Raine Foundation School

Raine's Foundation School was a Church of England voluntary aided school based on two sites in Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It was situated in the north of Bethnal Green, just to the east of Cambridge Heath Road (A107) and half a mile south of the Regent's Canal and not far from the Cambridge Heath railway station. It was opposite the London Chest Hospital, just off the Old Ford Road (B118) and in the parish of St James-the-Less, Bethnal Green. Henry Raine, a very rich man who lived in Wapping, decided to create a school where poor children could get an education for free, so that they could go into skilled labour when they left. In 1719, the Lower School opened. It has moved many times and the school had two separate buildings before closure, one for Years 7 and 8, and one for Year 9 and above. From September 2010, due to BSF works the Lower School site accommodated Years 7 to 8, with Years 9 to 13 remaining at the Upper School. The school closed in 2020 due to low pupil numbers. History Henry Raine had made a good sum of money from selling alcohol. However he was a devout Christian, and he knew that he should use his wealth for good. He decided to found a school where poor children could get a free education. He built it in Wapping, where he lived and named it "the Lower School". It opened in 1719. "The Lower School", was designed to provide an education for fifty boys and fifty girls between the ages of 8 and 18 years. They would learn "the three Rs", which were reading, writing and arithmetic. Girls however were also taught to sew and to cook, and boys were also made to shovel coal underground for the school's heating, and to scrub the floors. This was done in between periods. Boarding school In 1736 Henry built and set aside money for a boarding school which would take on forty girls from the Lower School. It was known as "Raine's Hospital" and later "Asylum"(this did not have the connotations it has today). It would have been quite pleasant, with clothes being provided along with frequent meals. The boys and the girls were separated at first and the boys would be beaten if caught talking to a girl. Because of this a fence was put up between the boarding and lower school. In 1820, a new boys' school was opened as there was a large increase in boys at the lower school which was only a boys' school, the girls had the boarding school but were soon to move to the Lower School. It was opened in Silver Street by the Duke of Clarence who was later King William IV. In 1883, the boarding school closed and a new boys' and girls' school opened in Cannon Street Road. Not all places were free anymore, it was 3d a week for the preparatory school and 6d for the senior school. Raine's Foundation School-Approach Road site-part to south. Former site In 1913, the school moved to Arbour Square in Stepney, the building still stands today and is part of Tower Hamlets College. It was state of the art with its gymnasium, science laboratories, a girls' cookery room and in World War I a rifle range was built on the open rooftop for boys who could prepare for the army which they would fight in against the Germans. The separation for boys and girls continued until 1964, even the hall was separated by a hinged folding wooden dividing wall. Comprehensive In 1977, Raine's merged with St Jude's Secondary School and became a comprehensive school. In 1985, the school moved to Old Bethnal Green Road (the lower school for years 7 and 8), and the old Parmiter's building in Approach Road. Both are in Bethnal Green and remain there until closure. The Upper School site is being redeveloped from Summer 2010 as part of the Building Schools for the Future project. This resulted in Year 9 being based in the Lower School building. In January 2020 Tower Hamlets London Borough Council made the decision to close the school due to low pupil numbers.[1] The school formally closed in August 2020.