Woolwich Polytechnic School

Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys is a secondary school for boys located in the Thamesmead area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, England.HistoryThe founding of Woolwich PolytechnicWoolwich Polytechnic School for Boys has its roots in the Polytechnic movement of the late 19th century. These polytechnics, of which Woolwich was the second, were set up with the aim of educating and 'improving' adult members of the working classes.Quintin Hogg, a successful London sugar merchant and philanthropist, had been involved in the ragged school movement for many years, but in 1871 focused his efforts on forming an Evening Institute for those at work in the day. This was to approach the whole person, both by education, but also by moral example, giving access to alcohol induced meetings, opportunities for physical activities and enriching debates. There was a strong evangelical Christian input in these aims. Hogg’s early aims were realised by the establishment of the London Polytechnic at Regent Street, which was set out to improve the whole person.An early student at the Royal Polytechnic Institution at Regent Street was Francis (Frank) Didden. In 1884 Didden moved to Woolwich to take up a job as a fitter at the Royal Arsenal. He also had a burning ambition to set up a Polytechnic in the Woolwich.In 1884 Woolwich had a population of about 34,000 people, many of whom were employed as engineers at the Royal Arsenal, or the other large factories in the area. Despite its industries Woolwich had many slums, drunkenness was widespread, and many jobs offered little or no real security. For many people a lack of education and dissolute habits prevented them from “getting on”. Didden saw a polytechnic as a way forward, and in 1886 he asked Hogg for support. Hogg’s reply is illuminating.