Orpington

This article is about the town of Orpington. Orpington is also the name of a chicken breed. Orpington is a town in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a substantial conurbation, whose population rivals that of Bromley. It is situated in the far South East of Greater London, close to the green belt and the orbital M25 motorway. The town functions as a suburban commuter town for London, and is well connected to central London by train from Orpington railway station.

History

In World War II this town sustained fairly regular damage from bombings and the occasional V-1 and V-2 attack, partly due to its location with regard to London (and the miscalculations/lack of fuel of bombers that that entailed), and also to the proximity of Biggin Hill aerodrome which was an important airbase for Spitfire and Hurricane fighters in the Battle of Britain. Orpington is famed in political circles for the 1962 by-election, which saw a shock Liberal Party win.

Education

Two local secondary schools are grammar schools which attract pupils from all over south London and north west Kent; St. Olave's (formally named St. Olave's and St. Saviour's Grammar School for Boys, and until the 20th century located in Southwark, London) and Newstead Wood (which remains solely a girls' school, unlike St. Olave's which began accepting girls into the Sixth Form in September 1998 - though the rest of the school remains single-sex).

The town also contains a sixth form college, Orpington College.