Information
History of our school
Michael Faraday Primary School is located at the centre of the Aylesbury Estate, the largest social housing complex in Europe, which was originally built between 1963 and 1977. At that time, the school was a single storey building.
The Aylesbury Estate is currently undergoing a major regeneration programme. As part of that redevelopment Southwark council granted planning permission in 2008 for a new primary school on the Aylesbury Estate to replace the original 1970s cramped and inflexible buildings. Work started on the site in 2009 and was completed by September 2010. The result is the stunning, award-winning, futuristic circular, two-storey building that we have today.
A very sincere thank you to Felicity J Lord Estate Agents, Camberwell, for volunteering their photographer, who took amazing photos of the school for our website.
Who is Michael Faraday?
"But still try for who knows what is possible!"
Our school is named after the 19th century scientist Michael Faraday who was born in 1791 in Newington Butts. He was extremely curious and questioned everything, always wanting to know more. He was particularly interested in the concept of energy, specifically force, and made important discoveries in the area of electromagnetism. His experiments formed the basis of modern electromagnetic technology. If it wasn’t for Michael Faraday, we wouldn’t know about electromagnetic induction – and, therefore, we wouldn’t have everyday items such as cars, doorbells, computers and televisions.
It is believed that he lived locally on Larcom Street where a blue plaque is situated.
Faraday died in 1867 and to celebrate his achievements, architect Rodney Gordon was commissioned in 1959 to create a sculpture. The Michael Faraday Memorial, which stands at Elephant Square in Elephant and Castle, was completed in 1961. The structure is six metres tall – just a bit higher than the double-decker buses that pass by it – 23 metres wide, and covered in 728 stainless steel panels. In a fitting tribute to the eminent physicist and chemist, it houses a London Underground electricity substation for the Northern and Bakerloo lines of Elephant and Castle tube station.
During his lifetime, Michael Faraday was known for being hardworking, principled and extremely clever. He was also a kind and humble person who was unconcerned with honours and was eager to practice his science to the best of his ability.
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