1920
Mother Rose Niland
Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster, invites the Superior General, Mother Rose Niland of the Dominican Sisters to provide Catholic Schools in North London.
1930
St Roses' Convent Opens
St Roses' Convent opens on Orange Hill Road with a view to open schools. The first of these schools was St Roses' Independent School which eventually amalgamated with St James'.
1931
First Dominican School Opens
The first Dominican School, the Annunciation School opened in 1931.
1934
St James' Central School Opens
August: St James' Mixed Central School opens with 310 students and 10 teachers.
1934
First Headteacher
Sister Catherine Walsh OP is appointed the school's first Headteacher (1934-1969).
1945
St James' Becomes a Secondary Modern
April: St James' becomes a Secondary Modern school.
1949
St Thomas' independent school taken over
As a result of the school's increasing popularity, a decision was made to take over St Thomas' Independent School, Marsh Lane, Stanmore.
1950
Increasing Numbers
During the 1950's and 1960's St James' grew substantially and to cope with the expansion of the school huts and two classrooms were constructed by the students in their building classes.
1954
Handel's Messiah
July: A presentation of Handel's Messiah by the school choir at St Thomas' annexe, which boasted a large hall.
1955
success at St james'
St James' saw its first student gain a place at Cambridge - Alan Evans. Over the years a number of students have been accepted by Oxbridge.
1956
Triumphant Achievement
The Tablet reported that "on the feast of St Thomas' the sisters triumphantly brought off an achievement that many a grammar school might well have hesitated even to attempt".
1957
Honoured
St James' was honoured by the visit of the Superior General, Mother Mary John Lovely OP on the 20th May 1957.
1958
Presentation recording
The Ministry of Education made a recording of the School's presentation that year.
1964
LIVE on the BBC
Easter Sunday: The "People's Service" was relayed live on BBC Light Programme with the school choir being conducted by Sister Rose Lynch OP.
1965
visitors at St james'
Sir Shane Leslie (1885-1971), 3rd Baronet of Glaslough and first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill (19974-1965) visits the school in July 1965.
1966
Bi-lateral school
St James' officially becomes a Bi-Lateral School (grammar and secondary modern) accepting students successful and unsuccessful in the 11+ exam.
1966
Educational cruises
Students embarked on 2 educational school cruises - on the SS Nevasa and SS Uganda, visiting countries around the Mediterranean.
1968
the model of education
The Borough of Barnet decided that all schools would become comprehensive by 1969. St James' became the template for the Barnet model of comprehensive education.
1969
headteacher Sister Catherine Walsh OP retires
Sister Catherine Walsh OP retires as Headteacher of St James'.
1969
A new Headteacher
Sister Veronica Desmond OP appointed Headteacher of St James'.
1972
St james' becomes a high school
The title of the school is altered from St James' Bilateral School to St James' High School.
1973
more expansions at st james'
September: St James' took over a second annexe at the old Goldbeaters' School to house four forms of year 9 students.
1974
olympic athlete at St james'
The Olympic athlete David Bedford worked at St James' Orange Hill Road as part of his teacher training course.
1984
A New Headteacher
Sr. Raymunda Jordan OP was appointed Headteacher of St James'.
1984
Headteacher Retires
Sr. Veronica Desmond OP, Headteacher retires July 1984.
1988
TV quiz show success
The winning team from St James' school are congratulated by quizmaster Shaw Taylor, presenter of London Weekend Television's Police 5 programme, May 1988.
1988
Olympic success
Former student, Peter Pienarosa, competed in the men's air rifle event at the Seoul Paralympics, finishing a highly credible 6th.
1992
Headteacher Retires
Sr. Raymunda Jordan OP Headteacher retires July 1992.
1992
A New Headteacher
Mr Kevin McSharry is appointed Headteacher of St James'.
1996
New School Uniform
St James' School uniform for boys and girls becomes uniform! Prior to 1996, the girls' uniform was green with a green and yellow tie.
1997
St james' Unification
In July his Eminence Cardinal George Bail Hume commemorated the unification of St James' on its Colindale site.
1998
st james' demolished
St James' at Orange Hill is demolished and St Roses' Convent is converted into flats.
2004
Specialisms
St James' is successful in its bid to become a specialist Science and Sports College.
2005
Service Honoured
His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphey-O'Connor and Bishop George Stack honour Kevin McSharry's 42 years of service and his retirement as Headteacher of St James'.
2005
A New Headteacher
Mrs Anne O'Shea is appointed Headteacher of St James'.
2010
Headteacher Retires
Mrs Anne O'Shea Headteacher retired July 2010.
2010
A New Headteacher
Niamh Arnull appointed Headteacher of St James'.
2014
Anniversary Celebrations
St James' celebrates it's 80th anniversary with a host of events to include the whole school community, past and present.
2017
A New Headteacher
Carolyn Laws appointed Headteacher of St James'.
