There has been a school in Beechcroft Road since 1926 – Bec school opened in the September. It had five classes with 129 boys and seven members of staff. In 1960 Hillcroft school opened as a boys comprehensive school on an adjoining site.
The two schools were separate institutions until 1971 when they merged to form one school Bec-Hillcroft. The newly amalgamated comprehensive school was renamed Ernest Bevin and a new single storey building was built to link the two school building facing Beechcroft Road.
In the summer of 1993 a major building project was started to refurbish the school buildings. During that time only Year 10 &11 students remained on site: Years 7, 8 & 9 were based in the recently vacated buildings of Walsingham School on Clapham Common Westside. The original Bec building was demolished during these building works and the land was developed for private housing.
The building work was completed in 1996 and staff and students moved into the new buildings on Beechcroft Road. The school was renamed Ernest Bevin College in June 1997.
In 2000 the college became a specialist Sports College and was redesignated in 2004. The college gained a second specialism in Mathematics and computing at this time. With the demise of the government’s specialism programme the college became a Computer Science Hub school and in 2016 applied for and was awarded STEM Assured Status. As well as offering a broad and balanced curriculum, there are additional opportunities for students in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), Computer Science and elite Sports.
During 2005 a major new development took place: the building of the new Sports and Sixth Form Centre. This complex was opened in September 2007 by Dame Kelly Holmes.