although in May 1972 this plan was denied permission to proceed by the Conservative Secretary of State for Education, Margaret Thatcher. As a step toward the ultimate establishment of comprehensive education throughout the borough, in 1973 the council announced plans to remove the words "secondary modern", "technical high" and "grammar" from all schools under their jurisdiction, resulting in protests from both staff and the parents' association at Chis and Sid. In 1974, the Conservatives then regained the council, proceeding to effectively ignore Labour's 1976 Education Act that required the making comprehensive of all secondary education. The chair of Bexley's Educational Committee, Brian Sams, insisted that the borough would not implement the legally required changes until every school in the area had the facilities capable of supporting a "curriculum adapted to the needs of pupils of all abilities". In the 1979 general election, Thatcher was elected Prime Minister and the pressure for the making comprehensive of all schools, from central government, ceased, allowing Bexley Borough to continue using the grammar school system. On 4 May 1971, four home-made bombs were found in the woods adjoining the school. The authorities suspected that these belonged to the far left militant group known as Angry Brigade. 1972 witnessed Chislehurst and Sidcup's first school trip outside Europe, as 150 boys traveled to New York City. Soon after, the wearing of caps as part of the school uniform was abolished. Links were established between Chis and Sid and the nearby Marlborough Special School for children with special needs, while in 1974 the school's literary society secured Kenneth Williams to speak to them. The first girls arrived at the school in September 1973, representing the sixty female pupils who had the highest test scores from the local primary system. Accordingly, the term "for Boys" was removed from the school's name, while hockey and netball were introduced as sports for the girls to play. Some resentment arose however over the issue of punishment; while boys were still exposed to corporal punishment in the form of caning and (unofficial) slapping, girls were exempt from these measures. During the general election of 1974, the BBC filmed their election count, presented by David Dimbleby, from the school's main hall, having chosen the building because it was located in the parliamentary constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup, which was the seat represented by the sitting Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath. After losing