Sir George Monoux College

Sir George Monoux, the founder of the Grammar School (later College), was born in or before 1465. In 1506 he was a Warden of the Drapers Company, in 1509 he became the Sheriff of London and later in 1514 he became Lord Mayor. Sir George Monoux was elected to Parliament as a Burgess for the City in 1523. He was a wealthy man who spent much of his time in Walthamstow.

George Monoux (alderman of London and local worthy) erected the Almshouses, associated school and feast ball for the poor of Walthamstow on a former parcel of St. Mary's Churchyard in 1527 in Walthamstow Village.

The Monoux School operated there for 353 years until moving firstly to West Avenue then to High Street, and finally to Chingford Road in 1927. The western end was rebuilt in 1955 following bombing in October 1940.

From 1527 to 1999 the school underwent many changes. From 1659 to 1968 it operated as a grammar school for boys. From 1968 to 1986 the school was a comprehensive. In 1986 the school became a sixth form college and girls were admitted for the first time. Following the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, in 1993, Monoux became an Incorporated College, which it remains today.

The school was re-established following a scheme made under the Endowed Schools Act in 1885 in a different part of Walthamstow, temporary premises in West Avenue, and then a purpose-built site in High Street. It moved to the present premises in July 1927. There have been many additions to the buildings since then. In 1961, 1977, 1990, 2002 and 2004. The school remained independent, but came increasingly to depend on local authority grants. From the death of the headmaster, William Spivey, in 1916, it can be regarded as effectively a local authority grammar school. The school was a selective boys grammar school until 1968 catering for boys aged 11–18.

Following reorganisation of secondary education by Waltham Forest council (devised by a Labour council but instituted under a Conservative one), during the years 1968 - 72 it gradually became a comprehensive Senior High School for boys aged 14–18 admitting most of its pupils from the Junior High Schools Chapel End, William Fitt, Warwick Boys School and Aveling Park. The last entry of boys to the main Monoux building was in 1987 who were taught separately to the sixth form but within the same building in Chingford Road. The last entry of boys however was in 1988 who were not taught in the main building but in an "annexe" located in Brookscroft Rd in the old Chapel End Junior High School. This was closed in 1990.

Following the London Borough of Waltham Forest's re-organisation of post-16 studies, in 1986 the school became a co educational sixth form college for students aged 16–19 and fully co-educational from 1989. It was funded and administered by the borough from 1986 to 1993 when under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 it was incorporated, becoming in effect an independent body funded by the newly formed Further Education Funding Council for England (FEFC).

In 2001 the FEFC was replaced with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The college driven by government growth targets increased in size from 600 students in 1986 to approximately 2000 students in 2006. The college offers A-level and vocational courses.[5] The college draws students from a wide geographical area of north and east London and from a very wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. At present over 95% of the students are from minority ethnic communities.

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