User:Londongull/Park House Middle School

Park House Middle School was a middle school run by the London Borough of Merton between 1972 and 2002, for children between 9 and 13 years old. It was built on the site of xxxx in Wimbledon, London.

The closure of the school followed a decision by the council to revert to a two-stage system of education, where pupils progressed directly from primary to secondary school, the usual arrangement outside London.

School buildings and facilities
The school was of brick construction, with a flat roof. The northern end was one storey high and contained the school gym, with the adjacent assembly hall lined on the western side by administrative offices. The main body of the school was two stories high arranged around a central quadrangle, with the general teaching rooms on the western and eastern external aspects. The southern end had the science teaching facilities on the upper level, and workshops for arts and technology on the ground floor. There was also a caretaker's lodge by the main vehicle entrance in Arthur Road.

The school had two tarmac surfaced playgrounds to the east and west of the main building, and to the south there were athletic facilities for field sports and track events. There was also a soccer pitch. Tennis courts were shared with the neighbouring Ricards Lodge school.

Organisation
The school consisted of four years, divided into xx forms arbitrarily named after planets; Saturn, Jupiter, Mars. Forms were usually referred to in abbreviated fashion (e.g. the fourth year Jupiter class would be called 4J). Each form had a form teacher who changed each year, and a form classroom.

Closure and replacement
In xxxx, the decision to close the school was made. The final intake of pupils was in xxxx, and teaching ceased in xxxx. The school formally closed on xx xxxx xxxx. In xxxx, the buildings were demolished to make way for new buildings being constructed to expand the adjacent Ricards Lodge High School.

Notable Alumni
Ian Crowe, actor