Oliver Goldsmith Primary School

Oliver Goldsmith Primary School is a primary school in Kingsbury, London, England, located on Coniston Gardens in the London Borough of Brent. Opened in 1937 as part of Middlesex County Council’s programme of school building for the rapidly expanding suburban district of Kingsbury, it replaced earlier educational provision centred on Kingsbury Road and served the growing population created by inter-war housing development in the area. The school serves pupils aged 3 to 11.

The school is named after the eighteenth-century writer Oliver Goldsmith, who lived nearby at Hyde Farm in Kingsbury during the 1770s.^[1]

Education in Kingsbury developed gradually during the nineteenth century when the district was still largely rural. In 1870 a British school was opened at the Hyde end of Kingsbury Road, where about forty boys, girls and infants were taught by a schoolmistress. The school was financed through voluntary contributions, school pence and parliamentary grants.^[2] Inspectors soon criticised the cramped premises, and in 1876 the Kingsbury School Board replaced it with a board school providing accommodation for about 120 pupils.^[2]

The board school became Kingsbury Council School in 1903. Educational reorganisation followed during the 1920s as the population of the district began to increase. Infants were transferred to a new school in Kenton Lane in 1922, and when Kenton Lane Council School opened as a senior school in 1928 its younger pupils were moved to the older Kingsbury Road building.^[2]

By the early 1930s the Kingsbury Road school was widely considered inadequate for the rapidly growing suburban population. Parents complained about overcrowded classrooms and poor conditions within the building. At a public meeting in 1933 proposals were discussed for a school strike and a campaign of non-payment of local rates in order to force the authorities to provide improved accommodation for pupils.^[3] Some parents alleged that children were being taught in basement rooms and that rats had been seen in parts of the premises.^[4]

At the same time the Middlesex Education Committee was negotiating the purchase of land adjoining the Springfield Estate for the construction of a modern school building to serve the expanding district. Progress was initially slowed by restrictions on government grants during the economic conditions of the early 1930s.^[5]

Oliver Goldsmith School opened in 1937 as part of Middlesex County Council’s programme of school construction intended to serve the rapidly growing population of Kingsbury.^[6] The school was named after the eighteenth-century writer Oliver Goldsmith, who had lived nearby at Hyde Farm in Kingsbury during the 1770s.^[7]

The official opening ceremony took place in February 1938. Speakers at the ceremony recalled the earlier Kingsbury Road School building, describing it as a "curiously shaped building" which local residents would not regret losing as a school.^[8]

The first headmaster of the junior department was Cecil Leonard Smith, who served from the opening of the school until his retirement in 1953 after forty-three years in teaching.^[9] In its early years the institution operated as separate infant and junior schools, each with its own leadership. Christina Jones served as headmistress of the infants’ department and retired in 1970 after more than twenty years at the school.^[10]

School life in the mid-twentieth century included sporting competitions and cultural activities typical of primary schools of the period. Sports days were held at local recreation grounds and organised through a house system.^[11] In 1956 a member of staff, Cyril Menders, wrote and produced a children's musical titled The Shunastah Legend which was performed by pupils at the school.^[12]

The school continued to expand its facilities during the later twentieth century as the surrounding community developed. In 1986 Brent Council approved plans to increase nursery provision at the school.^[13] During the 1990s the school campaigned for the replacement of deteriorating classrooms, and construction of a new two-storey classroom block began in 1996.^[14]

The school has also been involved in community initiatives. In 1998 pupils and staff organised a large aid collection for victims of Hurricane Mitch in Central America.^[15]

The school building was designed by the architectural partnership Curtis and Burchett as part of Middlesex County Council’s programme of modern school construction during the inter-war period.^[16]

The design reflected contemporary ideas about school planning, emphasising improved lighting, ventilation and outdoor recreation space for pupils. The construction of the school formed part of the wider suburban development of Kingsbury during the 1920s and 1930s, when new housing estates in the area increased demand for modern educational facilities.

Oliver Goldsmith Primary School has been inspected several times by Ofsted. Since the early 2000s the school has consistently been judged Good.

Known headteachers include:

• Cecil Leonard Smith (1937–1953), founding headmaster of the junior school.^[24]
• Susan Knowler (by the 1990s – 2014).^[25]
• James Simmons (2015–present).^[26]

• Linda Slater – child actor who appeared in the BBC television production The Snow Queen.^[27] She later played Susi McMahon in the BBC school drama Grange Hill (1979–1981) and the spin-off series Tucker's Luck (1983).