An artist who created a spectacular arch commemorating Marcus Mumford and his schoolfriends' school days is launching a campaign to stop it being destroyed.

The 12ft arch at top public school King’s College School, Wimbledon includes tiles made by the global superstar, his bandmates and other pupils but is now under threat from plans to create a £10m music school on the site.

Wimbledon Times:

Under threat: The Millennium arch  

From March: School to build £10m music complex designed by Olympic Velodrome architects

The school wants to relocate it but accepts it might not survive the move and an angry Christine Derry, who was commissioned to design and build the arch in the year 2000 as a millenium time capsule, is battling to save it.

Wimbledon Times:

Save the arch: Artist Christine Derry

Ms Derry, who now lives in France, said: "It was built to be there forever.

"It was very insensitive to write to me.

"It was put there to last, not to be taken down on a whim."

Ms Derry had all the students at the time - including front man Marcus Mumford and band mate Ben Lovett, to make individual tiles representing their time at the school. She said: "They personalised them.

"I had to take out a few spliffs and rude words but one of them snuck in the name of Rupert da Bear."

The school was given planning permission by Merton Council in March to go ahead with a £10m music school designed by the architect firm responsible for the Olympic Velodrome.

It will include a 200-seater concert hall with stage space for a 70-piece orchestra and four music classrooms, 16 practice rooms, office accommodation and a three-bedroom flat for the school caretaker.

The school's estates bursar Amanda Trail wrote to Ms Derry to say the arch may not survive relocation and suggested a new miniature arch using the dismantled tiles could be re-constructed elsewhere, or the tiles could be returned to the students at a "reunion."

On Tuesday Will Brierly deputy headteacher (academic) at the school said the copper-coloured arch which frames a walkway by the junior’s entrance, has to be moved because it sits in the footprint of the new music school and the emergency access route.

He said: "We are currently exploring options for its possible relocation. The only decision that has been taken is that it cannot remain at its current location."

Ms Derry said: "They didn’t consult me at the planning stage.

"They want to do a 15 year reunion.

"It’s a travesty.

"I designed it to last forever - it has a lot of history inside."

She said some of the tiles feature images of desktop computers and keyboards, before the invention of iPads. She said this shows how important it is to preserve the slice of history.

The arch itself was unveiled by the late Emmanuel Cooper, former editor of Ceramic Review, and it featured in a number of industry publications.

Ms Derry added: "I’m hoping if there is a lot of strong feeling around it, we can stop it."

What do you think? Leave a comment below or email becky.middleton@london.newsquest.co.uk.