History of Woodside

Woodside Primary School was opened on 28th April 1952 as Tyrell Heath Infant School and Tyrell Heath Junior School. Both schools had already been renamed “Woodside” in 1957 to save confusion with the neighbouring Torell’s secondary modern school (since moved down onto the marsh as Gateway Academy) before the school was amalgamated in 1962. Soon after opening, the school celebrated the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and hosted families driven from their homes by the Tilbury floods of February 1953. The school became Woodside Academy in December 2012 after the government invited successful schools to become free standing academies.  Read historic entries from the original school log below.