St Augustine’s primary students shape up for the school’s special birthday celebrations

A SCHOOL has been taking a walk back along memory lane while marking a historic milestone with an undertaking to complete “155 hours of kindness and giving back”.

Parents, pupils, and staff at St Augustine’s in south Kilburn took part in a range of goodwill activities including donating 155 items to food banks and homeless shelters.

Some of the more unusual contributions included Year 7 pupils “reading 1.55million words”. A time capsule is also being buried on the school’s grounds.

Headteacher Rachel Kelly said: “The school was initially opened to ensure that local students could access a free education rather than being forced into child labour. It’s an honour to see how that legacy continues to grow, still serving this community, still changing lives.”

The school had just seven pupils on its books when it was founded on May 16 1870 by Father Kirkpatrick, the first vicar, and Mother Emily Ayckbown of the Community of Sisters of the Church.

Mother Emily was born in 1836 and is said to have devoted her life to challenging the wealthiest to think about those less fortunate.

By 1893 she had established eight schools in the capital and set up orphanages in the north of what is now Westminster.

A year before St Augustine’s officially opened, the National Education League was campaigning for free education for all.

Its goal was to eliminate child labour, and their efforts contributed to the passing of the 1870 Education Act, parliament’s first clear commitment to addressing inequality in education.

In 1876, education became compulsory for all children but parents were required to pay fees.

A new school was opened in 1973 and today St Augustine’s – a primary and secondary school – has more than 1,000 students on its books.

Other activities taken at the school this week included a sponsored Walk for Shelter across London, undertaken by sixth-formers and staff, drone footage produced by Year 8 and tree and flower planting with volunteers from the charity Groundwork.

Commemorative badges were given out to students and there was a service with archive material from 1905 showing how the school had evolved over the decades.

The primary school headteacher Ruth Vince said: “The 155th birthday celebrations not only honoured the school’s rich past but also set a hopeful, service-driven tone for the future.”