Katherine Road: the history around Sandringham School

Much of how Katherine Road looks today can be traced back to the end of the 19th century, when East Ham changed from a collection of country lanes to busy streets. As such, clues to the history of the area can be spotted everywhere. Part of the aim of this project was to share this with some of the children who live and go to school in and around Katherine Road.

Sandringham School, on Sandringham Road, is right at the top of Katherine Road. It was established and built by the East Ham School Board in 1895 and the building at the heart of the school is – from the outside – instantly recognisable as Victorian. Over the course of three workshops with pupils from Year 4 at Sandringham School, we discussed the history of their school and the local area.

Looking at old photos and maps

We looked at old photos and compared them with how they appear today, so we could talk about how life has changed. But we also discussed how much has stayed the same – not least the fact that many of the children live in houses built around the same time as their school. They enjoyed trying to spot their homes on the map from 1913!

Spotting history around the school

We also went out and about around the school, looking for signs of its Victorian past. Unsurprisingly, this was many of the children’s favourite part of our workshops! They spotted the date the school was built, the old bell tower, decoration on the building, old bell pushes, signs above the doors and much, much more.

Sharing with the rest of Year 4

After our three workshops, the children then did a fantastic presentation for the rest of Year 4. They shared their new knowledge about how Katherine Road used to be countryside, how traces of the former village of Plashet can be found in Plashet Park and the date the school was built. They also explained some of the historical features they had noticed around the school.

They did such a brilliant job that the next day, others from Year 4 were seen looking up and pointing out things they had noticed about the school building!

Many thanks to the Sandringham School staff and pupils from Year 4 for working with us on this project.

To read more about the history of Katherine Road, see Katherine Road: from county lane to city street and Katherine Road: the history around us.