WCGS opened on 19 September 1927 on the 33rd birthday of its founding headmaster, W.T. Hutchins, with 71 pupils, half a mile from the current site. The building had a single storey, with a wooden extension. The school moved to its present site on Croydon Road in 1935.
During the Second World War, WCGS was damaged by a V-2 bomb. All windows were blown out and the roof collapsed. WCGS continued to function, with teachers and students working to rebuild the structure. 52 old boys were killed in action.
The 1950s to 1970s marked a period of expansion and development for the school beyond its original structure as new buildings were constructed to meet the growing number of pupils. The "New Block" ("English Block"), which contains laboratories and classrooms, was opened in 1952. It now houses all English and drama classes, as well as the dining hall. From the late 1950s until 1972, the first two years of the school were housed in classrooms at Carew Manor, half a mile away in Beddington Park. The Sixth Form block, located near the school playing fields, was completed in 1973, now containing classrooms instead.
In 1997, an old boy of WCGS, Chris Woodhead who was then HM Chief Inspector of Schools, opened a new science block. This block contains science classrooms, laboratories and various science department administration offices. The second part of the building's development was completed in 2000.
Girls were admitted to the sixth form from September 1999.[4] WCGS gained academy status on 1 June 2011.
Construction of a new DT and Music block was completed in August 2019, to be opened for the academic year 2019–20.[5]
Jamal Ottun, a Year 12 student at the school, died after drowning in a lake at a swimming trip on the school's annual Canada Rugby Tour. It was later determined by an inquest that Ottun was pushed into Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island by a fellow student.[6][7] In his memory, the "Jamal Ottun Scholarship" was founded, a £5,000 grant given by the Ottun family to support the tuition fees of students who "exemplify the values that Jamal embodied in his time at the school".[8]
Headteachers
Mr W.T. Hutchins, 1927–1959
Mr J. Hitchin, 1959–1975
Mr R.S. Harrison, 1975–1990
Dr J. Martin Haworth, 1990–2009
Mr Peter Smart, Acting 2009–2010; permanent 2010–2013
Mr Jonathan Wilden, 2013–2016
Mr Jonathan Wilden, Executive Headteacher of Folio Education Trust, 2016 – present
WCGS joined the Folio Education Trust[9] during the administration of Jonathan Wilden, whereupon he assumed the title of "Executive Headteacher" for the schools comprising the Trust, with Jamie Bean having since taken over local control as the acting headmaster of the school.
Houses
Ruskin rugby shirt
On admission to the School, all pupils are assigned to one of six Houses, a vertical system. Pupils represent their houses in competitions all throughout the school year. The leading house wins the Cock House Cup.
House
Colours
Namesake
Ruskin
Yellow & Black
Named after the writer, poet and art critic John Ruskin
Woodcote
Green & Black
A part of Wallington noted in Roman area records
Radcliffe
Navy & Sky Blue
Named after John Radcliffe, the 17th century physician and former area resident
Mandeville
Maroon & White
Named after Sir Geoffrey de Mandeville, resident and landholder after the Norman Conquest and mentioned in the Doomsday Book
Bridges
Blue & White
Named after sometime area resident, Canon Alexander Henry Bridges, Rector of Beddington
Academic performance at Wallington County Grammar School is outstanding, with students entering WCGS with very high levels of attainment. Progress and attainment in the Sixth Form are also exceptional. In the latest Ofsted report from 2017, WCGS was rated 'outstanding' in all areas, including Achievement, Behaviour and Safety of pupils; Quality of teaching, learning and assessment; Personal development and Welfare; 16 to 19 study programmes; and Leadership and Management.[11]
WCGS was awarded "science college" status in 2005 for its excellence in science and mathematics. This meant extra funding for the school, which helped to further improve the standard of the school's science department. More recently, WCGS was awarded a second specialism - "WCGS Applied Learning".
In February 2019, the school won the Evening Standard's Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, while its latest 'Progress 8' score places it amongst the top four per cent of mainstream state-funded schools in the UK.[12]
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 2023)
The following is a list of notable former pupils educated at Wallington, known as Old Walcountians:
Mark Pallen, Professor of Microbial Genomics at the University of East Anglia, captain of winning team from Imperial College in University Challenge, 1995–96
