Coal Hill School

The exterior of Coal Hill School in late 1963 (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)

Coal Hill School (formally, Coal Hill Secondary School) was a comprehensive school located in Shoreditch, a suburb of London.

Significant events

Events in 1963

In 1963, Barbara Wright taught history and Ian Chesterton taught science there. For about five months, Susan Foreman studied there. Susan's classmates included John Brent and Gillian Roberts. (TN: Time and Relative)

In late 1963, Wright and Chesterton went missing after leaving together after school to investigate the activities of Susan Foreman, who likewise disappeared. (DW: An Unearthly Child) Although Wright and Chesterton would mysteriously return to London two years later (DW: The Chase), Foreman would not be heard from again.

Presumably the disappearance of two teachers and a student would have caused great concern at the school. The school's reaction and subsequent investigations, however, have not yet been chronicled. Nor has its reaction to Wright and Chesterton's later reappearance.

Also, in 1963, Coal Hill School's headmaster, H. Parson, would at some point come under the mental control of the Imperial Dalek faction attempting to locate the Hand of Omega. (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)

Though not given directly, Parsons' name appears on the school sign.

More disappearances occurred later in 1963 as a janitor of the school went missing. Ultimately, the school became the site of what was later dubbed the Shoreditch Incident (MA: Who Killed Kennedy), a battle between British military forces, scientists, and the Doctor (who, unbeknown to school officials, was responsible for the disappearances of Wright, Chesterton, and Susan), and Imperial Dalek forces that have appropriated the school for their base of operations, installing a transmat in the basement.

Most of the fighting occurred outside the school and at nearby 76 Totter's Lane, although the Doctor's companion, Ace found herself in pitched battle with several Daleks inside the school, and the Imperial Dalek shuttle eventually landed in the schoolyard, shattering glass. (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)

Later Events

The Eighth Doctor's companion, Sam Jones, attended Coal Hill School in 1997 before leaving in the TARDIS with him. (EDA: The Eight Doctors)

Staff & Students

• Ian Chesterton - science teacher
• Barbara Wright - history teacher
• H. Parson - headmaster
• Susan Foreman - student
• John Brent - student
• Gillian Roberts - student
• Judith Winters (possibly) - student (possibly)
• Sam Jones - student