The Early History of St John's Church of England School

The present St. John's School building is the third to bear that proud name. It is built in Wood End Field, probably a reference to the wood which formerly covered Finchley Common and linked with Woodside and Woodside Lane. It was opened in 1972.

St. John's Church was consecrated on 9th May 1832. The money for the church was provided by Joseph Baxendale. The school and the church have been strongly linked ever since.

The earliest school that can reasonably be called St. John's was opened in 1833 and paid for by Joseph Baxendale. It was housed in one of three tenements about 50 yards downhill in Totteridge Lane on the south side - about where Ridgemont House now stands. It was described as "beamy and cobwebby, with wooden whitewashed walls". Rev. Henry Ventris was appointed to the Church in 1832, and he was also the first master. In 1839 it was known as Whetstone Charity School, master Henry Ventris. It was a Sunday and Day School.

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