The college was founded in 1855 when six De La Salle brothers came over from France to set up the first De La Salle school at the ‘Redemptorist St Mary’s Church Elementary school’ in Clapham Old Town. In 1856 the roll had expanded and the school moved to ‘Brooklands’ at 49 Clapham High Street. In 1895, after just over 30 years, the school moved to ‘The Grange’ in Upper Tooting. A brief stay and financial difficulty led to another move in 1897 to ‘Dane House’ in Denmark Hill. 7 years later, in 1903, the ever-transient brothers bought a beautiful property at Beulah Hill called the ‘Grecian Villa’. It is the gateway for our modern school today and has seen many thousands of De La Salle students pass through it. The school has been on its present site in Beulah Hill since 1904.
Construction
The oldest part of the school is the Grecian Villa which predates the school. The current Hall and Science Block was constructed in 1964, followed by a Design and Technology department in 1975, which has since been refurbished. The school features a newly built History block which includes four Classrooms and an office. It has been a voluntary aided school as of 1973. In 2003, it became a Mathematics and Computing specialist school. [citation needed]
Other
In 2011, Headmaster Eamon Connolly retired, and was succeeded by Marco Franchetti (formerly a deputy head and a psychics teacher) who after his retirement was replaced in January 2016 by David Garrido, then later succeeded by Catherine Kane, in September 2021 making her the first female Headteacher in the college's 168-year history. In 2016, a local internet company, Limetree, decided to sponsor the senior school football team at the school. [citation needed]
