New City was opened on 4 October 1897. Building 4
...a short history of the school
work was still going on and the whole of the school
was housed on the ground fl oor. When work was
fi nally completed the infants remained on the ground
fl oor, girls aged 7–14 on the middle fl oor and boys
aged 7–14 on the top fl oor. There are still artefacts
in school dating from that time (school books and
registers and two old bench desks).

At one time the school building had nearly 1500
pupils on roll. Classes of 50 were not uncommon and
the large rooms on each fl oor accommodated two
classes of 38 children!

New City changed from being an all-aged school
to become a primary in 1945. From then until
1981 the school was organised into two separate
departments, infants and juniors. The departments
amalgamated under one Head Teacher in
September 1981.

The building has also been host to other groups,
Newham’s Teachers Centre occupied the top fl oor
of the school from 1964 until 1985. The Borough
Compensatory Unit was merged with the school in
1986 but closed in July 1990

An outbuilding, known as the playhut, provided
a base for the pupils of Burke Secondary Modern
School to do woodwork. It now houses an after
school club.

Although the building is old the interior is bright and
inviting.
1897–2009
new city primary school prospectus
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