Heritage Open Day: North Primary School was built in 1893-4. North Primary School was the first to be built by the Colchester School Board which had been formed in 1892. The architects were the Colchester firm of Goodey & Cressall, whose designs typically used red brick and often included a tower as here. Also open for Heritage Open Days is St John's Green, another local school built by Goodey & Cressall.
The school originally had 872 children, including those from the nearby workhouse. The first headmaster was John Harper who worked at the school from 1894 to 1922. The school was originally located on Princess Street which was later renamed John Harper Street in his memory.