Founded in 1928 - or 1946, according to one's definition - St Alban's Catholic Preparatory School was one of a complex of three schools on a sprawling, leafily suburban campus in North Finchley, beside an above-ground stretch of the Northern Line (roughly half-way between Woodside Park and Totteridge & Whetstone Stations).

"The Prep" served as annexe and feeder primary to Finchley Catholic Grammar School (as it then was) and Challoner School (a catholic secondary mod), until yielding up its identity in 1988 to the excellent Woodside Park International School, which - as an outstation of New York's Dwight School - had already absorbed neighbouring Holmewood School (by Woodside Park tube).

If you attended, or taught at, St Alban's Prep, at any stage of its history; or have any observations to contribute from the standpoint of one of the other schools, do browse this site and join our own Yahoo! Group.

"At the heart of any culture is the process by which we bring successive generations into a narrative, the story of which we are a part. There is, of course, not one story but many, but storytelling is the place where identity is found, it is the vehicle of continuity . . . Stories tell us who we are, where we come from and what we might aspire to be. A culture is defined by its narratives." Sir Jonathan Sacks (Chief Rabbi of Britain, 1991- )