Raine's Foundation School


Raine's Foundation School is a Church of England voluntary aided school based on two sites in Bethnal Green in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
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 now has two separate buildings, one for Years 7 and 8, and one for Year 9 and above. From September 2010, due to BSF works the Lower School site will accommodate Years 7 to 8, with Years 9 to 13 remaining at the Upper School.

Admissions

It is situated in the north of Bethnal Green, just to the east of Cambridge Heath Road and half a mile south of the Regent's Canal and not far from the Cambridge Heath railway station. It is opposite the London Chest Hospital, just off the Old Ford Road and in the parish of St James-the-Less, Bethnal Green. It is one of six schools in the borough that has a sixth form.

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". 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.

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, and the old Parmiter's building in Approach Road. Both are in Bethnal Green and remain there until today. The Upper School site is being redeveloped from Summer 2010 as part of the Building Schools for the Future project. This will result in Year 9 being based in the Lower School building.

Motto

The motto was devised when the school opened. It was:
It has, however, been changed to:
The words of verse 4 of the school song say "Enter in and learn your duty, duty both to God and man"

Ethos and events

The general ethos of the school has a friendly feel to it. The social integration of the pupils is good, as is their relationship with the teachers. Events include talent shows held regularly in the school at the end of terms. These are occasions when the pupils can show off talents or skills to their fellow pupils. The most recent was at Summer 2009.

Uniform

When it first opened it had a boys' uniform: cap, long coat with buttons, tights and high heel-like shoes. The girls had: a coat, skirt and a hat.

Current boys' uniform

Unlike in the past, Raine's teaches a number of subjects stretched across a five period day. The list below gives times per week for Key Stage 3, not the number of times if taken for options.
The subjects taught now are:
Compulsory subjects for GCSEs:
The subjects in italic do not have to be taken for GCSEs, but an allocated number of periods per week for these lessons must take place.

Headteachers and Heads of Years (2019)

The school has recently begun a relationship with a school in China. Chinese are currently visiting the school. Opportunities within the relationship will include foreign exchange trips from both England and China.
Chinese lessons currently take place after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A new teacher has taken over the lessons.
In 2007, some teachers and sixth form students went on a residential trip to China to visit its partner school, and it was an incredibly successful and enjoyable trip for all.

Success story

The school's athletic department is top in P.E. The football teams usually gets through to the borough finals along with the basketball and athletics teams. The Girl's Athletics team have won the borough athletics league for 7 years in a row.
Also the Math Challenge with EPGY is run every year with students who excel in Mathematics. It is an annual course in which pupils must sit an entrance exam.

The future

In 2006, the school received £17 million which will be spent on refurbishing both lower and upper schools which are aging rapidly. At some point in 2008 it is proposed that lower and upper schools will temporarily be merged in order to allow building work to take place at the lower school site with the current building being demolished. Due to its age, the upper school buildings shall remain but the interiors will receive refurbishment. The old Headteacher, Gordon Clubb, moved from temporary Head to a permanent position in 2007-2013.
As a result of poor administrative decisions, in regards to hiring of senior staff within the school, the quality of the school significantly dipped. This was evidenced by the school's 2017 Ofsted report which concluded the school 'Requires Improvement'. Ultimately, it seems as if the school will be shut down and absorbed by nearby Oaklands.

Academic performance

It gets GCSE and A level results slightly under the England average. GCSE results are generally high in Tower Hamlets LEA. Raine's gets the second highest A level results in the borough.

Notable former pupils

Notable past pupils include: