History of Our School
In Victorian times education went hand in hand with the religious revival of the ninteenth century. One of the Borough's first schools was endowed by a local religious farmer called William Ford, who began a school in Dagenham village. He owned 12 acres of land on the Beacontree Heath. The School board of Dagenham, which was set up under the 1870 Education Act, brought some of his land and built a school on it, the first Beacontree Heath School, in 1877. It was later enlarged in 1893 to cater for a growing population.
By the 1960's the area was obviously in need of a school that could contain the children of the much expanded Beacontree Estate and also take into account the modern trends in education at that time. A new purpose- built open plan was designed and officially opened by His Worshipful The Mayor of Dagenham, Councillor Vic Rusha on the 15th May 1970. Mr D. Gilbert was installed as the first headteacher of the new Beacontree Heath Junior.
With the death of Alderman William Bellamy, a former Mayor of Dagenham in 1947 and Chairman of the Board of School Governors, it was decided to rename the school William Bellamy Junior.
