Hastingsbury Business and Enterprise College

Hastingsbury Upper School on completion [PY/PH52/1]

Hastingsbury Upper School was created in 1970. It was named after the Manor of Kempston Hastingsbury, created from the Manor of Kempston in 1237.

In the 1970s local education authority Bedfordshire County Council introduced comprehensive education. This did away with the old system of children progressing to grammar schools at age eleven if they passed an examination and to secondary or secondary modern schools if they were less academic but more practical. There were now three tiers of school. Lower schools taught children aged 4 to 9, middle schools from 9 to 13 and upper schools from 13 onwards. All schools served a local catchment area rather than taking children on the basis of academic ability.

On 1st April 2009 Bedfordshire County Council was abolished. Its functions in the north of the county were taken over by Bedford Borough Council. This was a district, or second tier, authority which was upgraded to a unitary council with both first and second tier responsibilities – a county and district council rolled into one. It this became Kempston’s local education authority.

At the time of writing [2013] Hastingsbury’s official name is Hastingsbury Business and Enterprise College. The school specialises in preparing students for a career in business.

The following list gives all the sources relating Hastingsbury School held by Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service. Due to the terms of the Data Protection Act records containing personal details of living individuals will be closed in total, or in part, depending on the nature of the information.

Hastingsbury Upper School July 2007

• CA2/321: building file: 1962-1975;
• SGM21: Governors' minutes: 1969-1973;
• E/SA1/4/4: comprehensive reorganisation and creation of school: 1969-1976;
• X494/64/2: newspaper cutting book mentions opening of school: 1970;
• PCKempstonRural26/2: correspondence on school matters: 1970-1977;
• CA2/393: Phase III building file: 1970-1976;
• PY/PH192/2: photographs: 1971;
• PY/PH52/1-3: photographs of exterior of school: 1971-1975;
• CA8/434: building maintenance file: 1971-1978;
  photograph in Bedfordshire Magazine Volume XIII p.155: 1972;
• CA2/556: building file for swimming pool, animal house and petrol store: 1973-1976;
• PY/E2/2/285: tenancy agreements: 1974-1978;
• PCKempstonRural26/4: correspondence regarding joint use of school facilities: 1975;
• SDBedfordJB7/13: newspaper report of headteacher’s attack on parental apathy: 1975;
• SDBedfordJB7/18-19: newspaper reports on computer link up between upper schools in the area: 1976;
• CA2/609: building file for conversion of lecture theatre to laboratory: 1977-1978;
• E/SE2/4/1: Ridgeway Special School file regarding pupils attending classes at Hastingsbury Upper School: 1977-1985;
• Z160/263: Inter Com magazine of Hastingsbury Community College: 1977;
• PY/E2/2/281: tenancy agreements: 1978;
• SDBedfordJB7/65: winners of Top of the Schools quiz: 1978;
• CA8/742: building maintenance file: 1978-1982;
• E/OL1/6/1: file on exchange trips: 1979-1984;
• E/SC3/Gen24: working papers regarding proposal that school receive pupils from Fulbrook Middle School, Aspley Guise: 1980-1981;
• TCKempston26/4: proposal for daytime use of Hastingsbury Community College: 1981-1982;
• Z117/48: Order of Service for thanksgiving for life of deputy headteacher Neil Lumsden: 1981;
• E/TE3/2: staff details: 1981;
• E/SC3/LB-Gen1: possible transfer of Fullbrook Middle School, Aspley Guise children to Hastingsbury at 13: 1982;
• Z117/49: Order of Service for funeral of former headteacher Alan Greenhalgh: 1982;
• SDBedfordJB7/83: appointment of new headteacher: 1982;
• CA8/934: building maintenance file: 1982-1984;
• CA10/77: file of resurfacing of play area: 1983;
• E/OL1/6/1: participation in schools foreign exchange: 1984;
• TCKempston26/5: proposed adult training centre at school: 1984;
• TCKempston26/6: grant for music project: 1985;
• E/CU3/13/6: establishment of pre-vocational courses: 1985;
• E/TE3/7: staff details: 1986;
• E/PM6/2/2: replies to a questionnaire on corporal punishment: 1986;
• E/MS3/2/2: kitchen etc. details: c.1987;
• SDBedfordJB2/1: the school in receipt of a National Westminster Bank award: 1986;
• X682/2/23: school year book: 1989;
• E/Pu4/4/34: prospectus: 1995;
• Z923/10/13: poser for careers convention: 1996;
• HT13/2/12: Harpur Trust grant to school: 1999.