The Bishop David Brown School

Formerly the Sheerwater Secondary School, in 1982 Sheerwater merged with the Queen Elizabeth II School and changed its name to the Bishop David Brown School, named in honour of David Brown, the Church of England Bishop of Guildford from 1973–82. The school name is commonly abbreviated to BDB. Previously a community school administered by Surrey County Council, in October 2015 the Bishop David Brown School was converted to academy status and is currently designated with a specialist Performing Arts status. The school is now part of the Unity Schools Trust, but continues to coordinate with Surrey County Council for admissions. Newspapers and documents dating from 1958 include the Bishop David…

In 1972, when the school was named Sheerwater Secondary School, the band The Jam was formed. The line-up was fluid at this stage, consisting of 14-year-old Paul Weller on bass and lead vocals together with various friends at the school. They played their first gigs at Michael's, a local working men's club. In 1975 the line-up began to solidify after changing the line-up, with the band now consisting of Weller, Steve Brookes (who later left the group), Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton. The band was very much inspired by Mod artists, such as The Who, and wore suits on stage as part of this aesthetic. The band wrote and released one of their biggest hits called 'Town Called Malice' which was…