Finchley Catholic High School - School Buildings

School Buildings

The school's buildings vary in age and quality:

  • The 'White House', built around 1870 by Cubitt, is the school's oldest building. Grade II listed, it houses the school's reception, main offices, a small chapel and a medical centre.
  • The Bourne Block, completed in 1936, is the largest building and houses most of the classrooms, as well as the Sixth Form common room and a newly-built business centre.
  • The Challoner Block, completed in 1954, originally housed the separate Challoner School, until it became part of FCHS in 1971. It contains the second largest number of classrooms.
  • Bampfield House, a private residence built before 1920, was acquired in the early 1950s as a dormitory block for the Challoner School. FCHS used it as a music and drama centre until the construction of the Performing Arts Centre (see below).
  • The School Hall, built in 1956 and originally used solely as a chapel, now functions as an assembly hall.
  • The Stephenson Block, (named after the late chemistry teacher, "Mo" Stephenson), also known as the '1971 Block', houses the ICT and art rooms, a small library and the recently-renovated cafeteria.
  • The Performing Arts Centre, built in 2004 and opened by local girl Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), replaced Bampfield House as a multi-purpose music and drama centre, including three music rooms and a drama studio. It also houses a seminar room for conferences.

There are two other buildings of note.

  • Challoner Lodge, built around 1930 as a house for the founder's aged widowed mother, is now the school keeper's residence.
  • Parsons Lodge, originally the coachman's lodge for the 'White House' and also Grade II listed, was recently converted into two private flats.
  • There is another structure, which could be mistaken for a neglected gatehouse, but is in fact the school's very own electricity substation (strictly out of bounds!).

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