Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy.
History
Grocers' Company's School
It was founded in 1876 as The Grocers' Company's School. On its transfer to the London County Council in 1906 the school was renamed Hackney Downs School.
Grammar school
Alumni including Nobel prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, fellow playwright and actor Steven Berkoff, 1960s tycoon John Bloom and nutritionist John Yudkin. Two current members of the House of Lords are former pupils: (Lord Levy and Lord Clinton-Davis). The school had 600 boys with a sixth-form entry by the early 1970s. Former high jumper and Board Director of London 2012 Olympics Bid Team Dalton Grant attended Hackney Downs School in the 80s.
Comprehensive
It voted to become comprehensive in 1969, and in September it became a comprehensive school. By the time of its closure, over 70 per cent of the boys spoke English as a second language, half came from households with no-one in employment, and half the intake had reading ages three years below average.
Decline and closure
Things came to a head in the 1990s, when the school made national news by being described by the then Conservative government as the 'worst school in Britain'. Eventually, as a result of direct government pressure, the school was forced to close in 1995.
Later use of the building
The site of the old school is now occupied by Mossbourne Community Academy, founded by Sir Clive Bourne, which opened in 2004. The school buildings of both the original Grocers' Company's School and Hackney Downs School have gone.
Old boys
The Old Boys of Hackney Downs continue their interactions as alumni through the Clove Club, which meets regularly, has its own website, and sponsors an email group called The Clove eGroup (on Yahoo), and featured on The Clove Club website.
History of the school
An official history of the school was published by the Clove Club in 1972. An updated edition was published in 2012: Hackney Downs 1876-1995: The Life and Death of a School.
Headmasters
Headmasters have included John Kemp.
Notable alumni
Hackney Downs School (1974–95) Dalton Grant, high jumper Geoffrey Hanks, professor of palliative care medicine Metin Hüseyin, film and television director Eric Hollingsworth, Head Coach, Australian Athletics