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A New Broom (1919)

Percy Abbott joined the Polytechnic Commercial School as a teacher in 1895, rising to senior mathematics master before being appointed in 1919 Headmaster of the Polytechnic Secondary School - the newly merged Commercial and Technical Schools. He was already an education adviser to various bodies, sitting on committees and examination boards. Abbott appeared to have no outside interests. He had played football for Arsenal as an amateur and, after he retired in 1934, it emerged that he had long been a Director of the club. One left wing Sixth Former was shocked to discover his Headmaster sitting next to him at a Fabian Society meeting. Shock turned to bewilderment when PA turned to him and said, somewhat conspiratorially, "It's a good thing nobody knows we're here." He did not have an imposing presence (unlike his "majestic" Deputy, George Dench) with an egg-shaped head, round shoulders and shuffling walk. In public he was quiet and solitary - the antithesis of many of his staff - and known for love of statistics on every aspect of the school. He could be convincingly angry when necessary. In private, though, he was a kindly man with a sympathetic ear.

Within twelve months, the school roll had risen to nearly 600 with record numbers of boys achieving Matriculation - up from 7 in 1919 to 50 five years later. From the advanced courses which Abbott introduced, the number of boys passing the Higher Schools Examination rose to 18 by 1924. Several went on to success in Inter B.Sc. or Inter B.A., the gateway to university entrance. In 1920, eight boys were awarded London County Council (L.C.C.) or Middlesex County Scholarships. Only two Poly boys had gained County Scholarships in the previous 35 years. Progress continued apace, with records being broken every year. And more changes were in the pipeline...

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