the school was now adjacent had been rebuilt in the eighteenth century and by 1950 was housing Rose Bruford College. Chis and Sid's new building was designed by Howard C. Lobb & Partners of Gower Street, in conjunction with the Kent County Architects S. H. Loweth and E. T. Ashley Smith. As a result of post-war austerity, the building was constructed on a tight budget of under £300,000 and consisted of reinforced concrete and portal frames, with a brickwork finish. The design was largely deemed to be aesthetically unpleasing by both students and staff, although it did allow them access to twice as much land as they had had at Crittal's Corner. Opening in 1954, it was officially opened in a ceremony led by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent and the Bishop of Rochester. As part of the move, in September 1954 it had been decided that the school houses would be renamed as Davies, Edlmann, Williams, Staff, Townshend and Lester, all figures who had played a prominent role in the school's history. The move also saw a change in the school's winter sport from football to rugby, although cricket remained the school's summer sport. The new headmaster was Richard "Dick" Pedley (1912–1973); born in Dorset, Pedley had studied English at Downing College, Cambridge before serving in the Royal Artillery during World War II. Prior to becoming Head at Chis and Sid he had taught at City Boys' School, Leicester and St. Olave's School, Southwark. Fiercely competitive, he encouraged a heightened spirit of competitiveness within the school, strongly emphasising academic achievement with the intent of getting as many students as possible to go on to study at the University of Oxford or Cambridge University. His success in this aim led to the school's attaining a national reputation and within the maintained school sector, only Harrow College rivaled its achievements. Opinions about Pedley among staff varied greatly, however, because his autocratic management style was criticised for achieving success for some pupils at the expense of others. In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 came into force, transferring Chis and Sid from the county of Kent to the newly created Greater London. Now part of the London Borough of Bexley, it lost access to three quarters of its former catchment area, which remained under the jurisdiction of Kent County Council. Further change came under the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Harold