In the 1870s a small school attached to St Clement's Church was too small to meet the growing demand and Boscombe British school was established by Mr Frederick Moser and Sir Percy Florence Shelley who laid the foundation stone in 1878. The school opened in 1879. The Christchurch Times reported that the building was "to be one of the most ornamental as well as useful buildings in Boscombe." The school was built in a Neo-Gothic style in Gladstone Road and later when transferred to the local authority was renamed St. John's Church of England Primary School. The senior section of the school moved in 1940 to the newly built Boscombe Bilateral Secondary Modern(now King’s Park Primary) on Ashley Road. In 1960,a local teacher Leslie Williams formed the 'Bournemouth Children's Theatre' in the old school buildings and it became the Drama Centre. Dame Sybil Thorndike became the patron of the centre and visited frequently. During the 1980s the Drama Centre was renamed the Bournemouth Centre for Community Arts (BCCA) to reflect its extension into other arts. When it became known as the Bournemouth Centre for Community Arts (BCCA), Gareth Malone attended later going on to be known as the Choirmaster on BBC televised programmes. When it was closed in 2007, under threat of demolition Friends of the BCCA contacted English Heritage to save the building; it was Grade II listed by English Heritage in 2008 particularly in reference to the Gothic design and in the larger schoolroom with its complicated roof. In June 2012, despite 938 objections, and claims the Planning Board had been "misled", planning permission was obtained to restore the listed rooms, to build 11 affordable homes for local people (10 houses and 1 accessible bungalow), a community orchard and allotments. leaving only three rooms for a "creative hub".