St David's College, West Wickham

St David's College is an independent junior school in West Wickham and Beckenham, which was founded in 1926. Its first principal was Mrs Gwenllian Davies, a graduate of Cardiff University, who was a gifted teacher and an excellent administrator. The school began in Mr. and Mrs. Davies' house and comprised just one room for a Kindergarten. By 1931 there were 32 pupils on the roll whose ages ranged from 5 to 10.

A photograph of the 1937 Sports Day shows children wearing the brown and gold blazers which are still part of the uniform for pupils today. The field was owned by the Schove family. In 1935, Mr and Mrs Davies sold the freehold premises known as St David's, as well as the scholastic fixtures and fittings annexed to the property, to Mr Derek Schove, at a cost of £900. During the Second World War the number of pupils declined but the school opened its doors to students from the ages of 3 to 33. Mr Schove was a qualified meteorologist and he enlisted in the Royal Air Force so the school was carried on in his absence by Miss Jupp and Mrs Ramsden. After the War the numbers of pupils attending St David's quickly grew and by 1949 the older pupils had moved into Justin Hall. This hall had been destroyed by a bomb during the War and had been rebuilt to provide classrooms on the street level and a hall down below.

In the early 1950s the House system was introduced to St. David's. A pupil became either a Beck or a Wick, depending on whether the family lived in Beckenham or West Wickham. This did not make it easy for pupils who lived in surrounding areas such as Croydon, so in 1978 the present House classifications of David, Justin, and Oak were initiated. Pupil numbers by the 1950s had risen to about 130 and an extension was built at Justin Hall. In 1958, Schove was awarded his PhD. School numbers continued to grow. In 1968 the Little School opened on its new site in St David's Close. The Golden Jubilee of the school was celebrated in 1976 and in 1983 the school was granted Accreditation by the Independent Schools Joint Council. Schove died in 1986 shortly before the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Mrs Vera Schove took over as Principal and a Head Teacher was appointed. Mrs Schove was later joined as Principal by her eldest daughter, Mrs Ann Wagstaff, who still works at the school as a member of the Senior Management Team and as the Computing teacher.

In July 1996 celebrations, including a dinner dance, were organised for the Platinum Jubilee of the school. The whole school had an outing to Legoland, UK. The school was owned by the Schove family until September 2015, when it became part of the Wishford Schools group. This is a small family group of Independent Schools Association (ISA) schools which encourages each school to retain its own ethos but strongly supports the continuing development of the curriculum and facilities.