After a bequest made by the merchant Robert Aske to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers on his death in 1689, a school and almshouses were built at Hoxton near the city of London. When, in 1874, the almshouses were closed, the educational capacity was enlarged and split into two parts, one north of the river and one south. The northern section established a boys' and girls' school in Hoxton, which eventually became Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School and Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, both now sited in Elstree, Hertfordshire. For the southern section, land was purchased at Hatcham, now better known as New Cross Gate, for the foundation of boys' and girls' schools on what is now known as Telegraph Hill. The north London school became generally known as "Haberdashers'", while the south London schools became generally known as "Aske's", though their official titles were parallel. Former pupils of the Hatcham schools are called "Old Askeans".
Two schools were complete on the site now on Pepys Road by late 1875, and in 1889 the site now on Jerningham Road was purchased and the girls' school relocated to the new site.
A failing local primary school, Monson Road, was closed. The college and secondary school were joined together, giving all pupils preferential and automatic rights to attend secondary education. Initial optimism for this new school was short lived following a fire at the new Temple Grove school in 2010. There were no injuries, but the school was forced to move to the Hatcham College main site, with temporary buildings at the College being erected. The temporary buildings were estimated to last for up to three years.[citation needed]
In January 2012, the then UK education secretary, Michael Gove, visited the school and gave a speech defending the government policy of converting local authority funded state schools into central government funded academies.[1]
In October 2012, a criminal investigation was launched into fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy trust chain.[2] A 55 year old male member of staff was suspended while the a civil case was launched against him to recover the defrauded funds.[3]
In June 2014, Adrian Percival, the then CEO of Haberdashers' Aske's Federation Trust, wrote to parents asking "that nobody comments publicly on this situation."[4]
In July 2014, conservative MP, Edward Timpson, reported to Parliament that £2.16 million had been defrauded from The Haberdashers' Aske's Federation Trust between the years 2010 to 2012.[5] A statement from the federation said "It appears that the fraud was extremely sophisticated and involved the theft of a substantial amount of money effected through a large number of transactions processed over seven years, and involved one individual staff member in a position of trust acting alone."[6]
On 22 July 2014, BBC London News televised a report on the civil case made by Haberdashers' Aske's Federation Trusts against their former accounts manager Samuel Kayode, a Nigerian accountant and part-time pastor,[7] attempting to recover £4.1m Kayode paid into his personal account over a 7-year period.[8]
In June 2016, a criminal case against the perpetrator of the fraud commenced at Woolwich Crown Court.[9]
On 24 June 2016, The Woolwich Crown Court sentenced Samuel Kayode to jail for 9 years. Of the £4.1m stolen by Kayode only £800,000 was recovered. Prosecutor James Thacker stated "It is believed to be Britain’s biggest education fraud".[10][11][12][13]
In September 2021 the school dropped the 'Aske's' from its title following controversy over the legacy of Robert Aske.
In 1995 the two schools were combined under a single headteacher (Dr Elizabeth Sidwell - formerly girls' school headteacher and former chief executive officer of the federation), and the name Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College. Sidwell left in 2011 and was replaced by Adrian Percival. Teaching is now fully co-educational. Boys and girls were generally taught on their traditional separate sites until 2002, when the boys' and girls' sites were re-organised as lower-school and upper-school sites. Years 7, 8 and 9 are based at the Jerningham Road site; years 10, 11 and the 6th Form are based at the Pepys Road site. The school sports field is located close by on St. Asaph Road in Nunhead.
The former College Principal was Declan Jones, who was previously deputy Principal and replaced Michelle Adamson. Dr Elizabeth Sidwell became the CEO of the Haberdashers' Aske's Academies Federation after holding the position of Principal until the creation of the federation. The role of the CEO has now been taken over by Adrian Percival and Dr Elizabeth Sidwell has moved from Aske's to become Schools' Commissioner for England.
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(June 2013)
Haberdashers' Boys' School, is a 4–18 boys public school in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
Lewisham is an area of southeast London, England, six miles south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London, with a large shopping centre and street market. Lewisham had a population of 60,573 in 2011.
Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School is a selective state grammar school for high-achieving boys and girls aged 11–18 with boarding for boys, located in Newport, Shropshire, offering day and boarding education. As of 2024, boarding fees are £14,553 per year for years 7-11 and £15,954 per year for Sixth Form. Haberdashers' Adams was founded in 1656 by William Adams, a wealthy member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers. In January 2018, the school changed its name from Adams' Grammar School to Haberdashers' Adams. In July 2022, the school announced that it would become fully co-educational, starting from September 2024.
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient merchant guild of London associated with the silk and velvet trades.
New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, and home to Goldsmiths, University of London, Haberdashers' Hatcham College and Addey and Stanhope School.
St George's School, Harpenden is a non-selective day and boarding school in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England, educating students of both sexes between the ages of eleven and eighteen, with an emphasis on its Christian ethos. It was founded in 1907 as one of Britain's first mixed-sex boarding schools. The school has International School status. The School was named as the Sunday Times' 'Comprehensive School of the Year' in 2019. In 2022, the School was ranked as the 122nd best secondary state school in the country based on combined GCSE attainment and A-Level point scores.
Haberdashers' Girls' School is a private day school in Elstree, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as "Habs". The school was founded in 1875 by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of London.
Slade Green is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies northeast of Bexleyheath, northwest of Dartford and south of Erith, and 14 miles (23 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Robert Aske was a 17th-century English philanthropist, merchant and haberdasher, who served as an Alderman of London.
Telegraph Hill is a largely residential conservation area bounded by Nunhead and Brockley and is an electoral ward just south of New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham in southeast London, England.
Haberdashers' Aske's School may refer to:
Kelly College was a coeducational independent school in the English public school tradition situated in the outskirts of Tavistock, Devon, with around 350 students ranging from ages 3 to 18. There was an associated preparatory school for primary school children, Kelly College Preparatory School, nearby. In June 2014, the school formally merged with Mount House School to form Mount Kelly School.
Graham School is a coeducational secondary school in the west of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the west of the town within 22 acres (8.9 ha) of grounds. The school is on Woodlands Drive. The lower site on Lady Edith's Drive closed on 23 June 2017.
Haberdashers' Crayford Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form with academy status sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers. It is located in the Crayford area of the London Borough of Bexley, England.
Sambo Dasuki is a retired Nigerian military officer who served as National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and briefly to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Haberdashers' Castle House is an independent preparatory day school for boys and girls, first established in 1944, at Chetwynd End, Newport, Shropshire.
Kayode Soyinka is a Nigerian journalist, publisher, and author.
The London Academy of Excellence Tottenham is an academically selective free school for pupils aged 16-19. The sixth form academy was opened in September 2017 in the London borough of Haringey.
Llewella Gideon is a British actress, comedian and writer. She has appeared in a number of comedy series, including Absolutely Fabulous, The Real McCoy, The Crouches, and The Delivery Man, and provided the UK voice of Molly and Trix in Bob the Builder. She wrote and starred in the radio series The Little Big Woman, which ran on BBC Radio 4 from 2001 to 2003. The show was awarded the Critics' Choice by both The Times and The Guardian. In 2024, Gideon starred as Miss Drusilla in the BBC drama Mr Loverman.
John Furnival was a British artist and teacher, active in visual and concrete poetry. He was best known for his 'wordscapes'.
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