More than 60 members of either the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects or the John Carpenter's Club [the school's 'old boy' association] gathered in the entrance lobby of the City of London School on 15th January 2008 to celebrate the unveiling of two plaques.
The first plaque acknowledges the two architects of the school's current building - Stuart Murphy, then Architect and City Planning Officer - and Tom Meddings, the 'project architect'. Both designers were old boys of the school.
The second plaque celebrates the Stuart Murphy Visual Arts Scholarship, which was raised by OC Brian Waters as Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects in 2002-3. Many of the 39 contributors to this scholarship attended.
The evening started with a welcome from the Head Master, David Levin. The Murphy family was represented by Mrs. Jane Murphy and children, Giles and Sarah. The Meddings family by children Luke and Tarsin; Mrs Pauline Meddings sadly not being well enough to attend.
Brian Waters first explained the purpose and background of both memorials, and then a family joint venture succeeded in unveiling the two etched-glass plaques. They are positioned in the school's entrance hallway, alongside the three architectural models of the school's various buildings: in Milk Street, on Victoria Embankment and finally the current new school building, located next to the 'Wobbly Bridge'.
David Levin explained the school's bursary schemes. The Murphy Scholarship fills an important need – to support a qualifying fifth-former who is at risk of having to leave the school rather than enter the sixth-form.
The first Scholar, Yates Norton, now in his second year in the Sixth Form, spoke eloquently and thanked his sponsors for the opportunity the Scholarship has given him. He has now been offered a place at Sidney Sussex college, Cambridge to read Fine Arts – which appropriately is taught at the Faculty of Architecture. The Head Master and the School were very generous hosts. The JCC met the cost of making the plaques, which were designed by Brian Waters.
Former CLS Second Master and archivist Terry Heard had even managed to find and display archive tracings and drawings of preliminary projects prepared for the new school building's construction!
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