A Catholic school has been in Redhill since 1867, initially in Brighton Road, where there was also a church and priest's house. In 1889, a French order of nuns, who had opened a convent in Redhill two years earlier, bought land in Ladbroke Road and built a school there. The convent co-operated with St Joseph's School by assisting with teaching Religious Education to the children at St Joseph's.
The recorded history for the school begins in November 1902. The first entry in the log book records that there were two teachers, Sr Mary Louis and Sr Mary Genevieve, three managers (governors) and five classes. The average attendance was 33 pupils who were taught English, Arithmetic, Geography, Elementary Science, Singing, PE, Drawing and Needlework.
Since its foundation, the school has been central to the life of the parish and even today, many of the current children have been preceded by their parents and grandparents. These roots are part of the school’s fabric and an important aspect of the school’s ethos of belonging and support. Nuns were part of the teaching staff until 1972 when Sr Anastasia retired. Sr Silvester was on the staff for 44 years until she retired in 1971.
The school is also a witness to the history of the parish, for example on 29 August 1940 it is recorded, 'prolonged air raid activity – no morning session'. On 29 November 1940 the records state 'the attendance is seriously affected by the continued air raids. In addition, there is at present a severe epidemic of chicken pox'.
Evolution of the School
The school as it is today evolved from when records began in 1902. There have been changes in curriculum, teaching methods, location and structure but the school has managed to remain a central presence in the community and has retained its close relationship with the church and the values of Catholicism. Some important milestones are given here
1939
The First inspection of the school by the Board of Education states "The Children are pleasantly controlled and well behaved"
1951
There were 147 pupils in five classes; Admissions, Infants, Lower Juniors, Upper Juniors and Seniors, the biggest class was 38.
September 1960
A New school opened on our current Linkfield Lane site with 239 pupils; classes became known as Reception, 2nd Infants, Top Infants and Forms 1-4.
1963
April - Erection of two temporary huts to address overcrowding and a long waiting list.
July - French Lessons commenced.
September - Classes became known as Reception, 1st Infants, 2nd Infants, Top Infants and Forms 1-4. There were 287 pupils, some classes had 44.
1964
Introduction of Transition Class between Top Infants and Form 1.
1966
There were 369 pupils, one class had 47.
1967
Attendance at school limited to those over 5s to manage over-crowding.
1969
St Joseph’s RCP (annexe) Frenches Road opened with two classes.
1971
Sr Silvester retires after 44 years association with the school.
1972
Sr Anastasia retires.
School Year 72/73
For the first time, there are no nuns on the staff.
September 1976
Schools were reorganised to form St Joseph's RC First School (138 pupils) for children 4+ to 7+ and St Edward the Confessor Middle School (218 pupils). St Joseph's classes were identified by colour, Red, Yellow, Orange, Green and Blue. St Edwards was located on Ladbroke Road, in a building previously occupied by St Joseph's Secondary school, there were eight classes in four year groups
May 1977
St Bedes officially opens.
July 1984
Agreement reached for St Josephs First School and St Edwards Middle school to be amalgamated on St Josephs’ site.
July 1985
Work commenced on the new building for the middle school.
September 1986
St Josephs First and Middle School opened. There were 392 pupils with capacity for 420. The school was made up of a Lower School (ages 4 to 7) with five classes, Middle School (ages 7 to 10) with six classes and Upper School (ages 10-12) with four classes. Irene Rolston and Marcia Atkinson were Head and Deputy Head respectively.
January 1988
There were 421 pupils on roll.
February 1989
A neighbouring school, St Matthews, was opened.
January 1992
A second reception class was formed.
September 1993
The school became known as St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Redhill. There were 354 pupils aged from 4 to 11 and divided into Key Stage 1 and 2 in accordance with the National Curriculum.
May 1995
First Key Stage 2 SATS for Year 6
October 2016
Construction was completed and a new building was opened on the St Joseph's site, enabling expansion to 3 form entry
September 2022
The school reached full capacity with over 620 pupils on roll.
August 2024
On the 1st of August St Joseph's officially became part of the Xavier Catholic Education Trust.
A Series of Firsts
Whilst the evolution above took place, the school began to expand its horizons and introduced a number of new ideas to stimulate the children and make learning more interesting. Not all were successful, but many were and continue to this day and play an important part in defining the character of the school.
12.05.59: First trip to Isle of Wight, 54 children went on a day trip, leaving at 9.30 am and returning at 9.30pm. The records note it was a warm and sunny day and of much educational benefit to all. (This is now a week long residential trip)
08.05.69: Individual school photos were taken for the first time.
Sept 1974: Clubs were introduced at St Josephs; French, Guitar, Recorder, Nature and Arts & Crafts.
26.03.77: Friends of St Josephs (FoSJ) held the first Spring Fair, the proceeds going to re-decorating the school exterior.
Sept 1987: FOSJ became known at the St Josephs Association.
07.05.93: The first Yr 6 residential trip took place, to the Isle of Wight
17.07.93: The first school photo of all pupils was taken.
13.12.93: First “old folks” party run by Yr 6.
17.03.94: First Fun Run.
14.02.96: First “Victorian Day” for Yr 6.
13.06.97: First summer concert
Interesting Developments Along The Way
08.10.65: A TV was donated to the school
03.10.66: Mass was celebrated in the school for the first time and continued each Wednesday for many years.
Sept 1969: The school bus arrived, carrying 98 pupils.
Nov 1970: A pupil (who will remain anonymous!) carried an unexploded bomb by train from Nutfield to a history class. The bomb was recognised as being live and safely defused. The local newspaper headline – “Not an apple for teacher but a bomb”.
Sept 1974: The school played its first competitive football match, beating Springvale 7-3.
04.10.76: The inaugural meeting of the Parent Teachers Association, the Friends of St Josephs
11.12.76: FoSJ held its first function, a Bring and Buy.
03.03.83: The school received its first computer.
21.05.83: The school won the Junior Choir section of the Reigate Festival.
19.05.84: A group of children, all U8, won the Challenge Cup for the first time singing at Reigate Festival.
04.06.84: Fluorescent lighting was installed.
16.11.91: Mr Apps joined the school as caretaker.
23.01.96: 5 a side football team won the SE Surrey tournament for the second time in four years.
Finally, there have been 14 head teachers at St Joseph’s (three of these in an acting/temporary capacity) since 1902.
| Date From | Date to | Name |
|---|---|---|
| November 1902 | January 1904 | Sr Mary Louis |
| January 1904 | April 1930 | Mary K McFaul |
| April 1930 | February 1942 | Mary O'Connor |
| February 1942 | November 1944 | Margaret O'Keefe |
| November 1944 | January 1947 | J McKean (Acting) |
| January 1947 | January 1963 | Rosine Mitcalfe |
| January 1963 | July 1974 | Patrick Sheehan |
| September 1974 | July 1976 | Margaret Atkins |
| September 1976 | July 1993 | Irene Rolston |
| September 1993 | Aug 2004 | Kathleen Colledge |
| September 2004 | April 2017 | Elizabeth Walsh |
| January 2018 | Aug 2024 | Tamsyn Lawlor |
| August 2024 | to Date | Thomas Hall |
The 3 Acting Headteachers / Heads of School performed the role at various times during their times at St Joseph's and were all immensely appreciated for stepping up from their roles as Deputy Headteachers to assist the school.
| Name | Dates |
|---|---|
| Marcia Atkinson | Between Sept 1978 and July 1989 |
| Carol Scanlon | Between January 2004 and December 2017 |
| Anoushka DeSampayo | Between August 2023 and August 2024 |
Mrs Tamsyn Lawlor also took on the role of Executive Headteacher for both St Joseph's and St Clements School between September 2023 and August 2024 and we are sure her expertise and experience was well appreciated by all involved in both schools during this time.
The above history has been compiled from a number of interviews and from reading the log books. We are conscious that there will be much not included and welcome contributions from the wider school community, both past and present. Should you wish to provide any information, please forward it to office@stjosephsredhill.co.uk. We will do our best to incorporate your contributions in periodic updates to the website.
