Hawksmoor School may have closed its gates for the last time, but its name will be fondly remembered by Borehamwood folk for many years to come.

The upper school shut last week so its Cowley Hill premises could become the lower school site for the new Hertswood School, which opens in September.

The move brought to an end 29 years of school history, throughout which Hawksmoor has prided itself on providing a friendly learning atmosphere.

Staff have faced many challenges since Hawksmoor first opened in 1971, but their dedication has ensured that it will long be remembered as a 'caring' school.

Phil Tompkins, headteacher since 1989, said: 'We wanted to create a lively, thinking environment in which our students could strive to achieve to the best of their ability.'

The site was formerly occupied by Boreham Wood Grammar School, which was launched at a cost of £167,000 in 1956 with the aim of becoming an 'ultra-modern school'.

During the opening ceremony, Sir Eric James dramatically declared that schools such as Boreham Wood Grammar were designed to meet the 'challenge of America and Russia'.

'We must mobilise; we must mobilise our strongest national resource ,, our national intelligence,' he told proud parents and new pupils on November 8, 1956.

After 15 successful years, a schools reorganisation took place in Borehamwood, and the grammar was transformed into the new Nicholas Hawksmoor School.

The first few years at the new school, which took its name from an architect who worked alongside Sir Christopher Wren, was a time of uneasy transition.

Pupils from the grammar were selected to stay on to join an influx of 300 pupils from county modern schools, and initially there was tension between the two groups.

As the 1970s progressed, the Nicholas Hawksmoor sports centre was built and the school developed a strong reputation for after-school activities, even launching a go-karting club.

One pupil who made the most of the sporting skills he picked up at Nicholas Hawksmoor was Tim Sherwood, the Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer, who left the school in 1985.

Deputy headteacher Tony Cleary, who was a history teacher at Nicholas Hawksmoor when it opened, said he had been struck by the 'staff-room atmosphere'.

'I will look back with a lot of pride at what has been a marvellous school at creating a really co-operative atmosphere between pupils and teachers,' he said.

In the mid-1980s Nicholas Hawksmoor agreed to combine sixth-form teaching with Hillside, establishing a link between the schools which grew stronger over the years.

More recently, Hawksmoor has been praised for its discipline and has played a key role in an education investigation into the most effective methods of avoiding exclusions.

Back in 1996 the school was criticised by inspectors over below-average results, but Mr Tompkins said the school had recently been making positive progress.

A year earlier the school's name was simplified to just Hawksmoor, and in the time since then pupils numbers had been rising as the image of the school improved in the town.

Mr Cleary, speaking in tribute to all who have worked and studied at Hawksmoor down the years, said: 'It has always been a very happy school ,, the kids have been great.'