Lady Hawkins' School
| Lady Hawkins' School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Park View , , HR5 3AR | |
| Coordinates | 52°12′09″N 3°02′19″W / 52.2025°N 3.0385°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Established | 29 September 1632 |
| Local authority | Herefordshire |
| Department for Education URN | 137608 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Chair | Stephen Grist |
| Headteacher | Paul Jennings |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 351 as of January 2015[update] |
| Website | http://www.lhs.hereford.sch.uk/ |
Lady Hawkins' School is situated in the market town of Kington in north west Herefordshire. It operates as both a secondary school and sixth form, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 16, and offers further education through its sixth form through the ages 16 to 19. The school is currently led by headteacher Paul Jennings.[1]
The school comprises two houses named after prominent figures in Kington's past: Banks and Garrick.
The sixth form is one of the smallest in Herefordshire and was threatened with closure in 2006; however, it currently remains open.
History
The school was founded on September 29, 1632 with the funding of Lady Margaret Hawkins (Married to Sir John Hawkins) who had died in 1619.[2] In her will, dated April 23, 1619, she left £800 'for the purchasing of lands or tenements of a yearly value of forty pounds for and towards the perpetual maintenance of a learned and choice preaching divine, the Master, to keep a free school in Kington, in the County of Herefordshire, and of a learned and discreet Usher under him, for the instructing and teaching of youths and children in literature and good education.'[3]
Captain Anthony Lewis, servant to Lady Hawkins and acting executor of the will, purchased School Farm, Upper Hergest, in 1622 to produce the necessary forty pounds a year for running the school. He paid £26 13s 4d for a piece of ground in Kington on which the school would be built upon. Lewis contracted John Abel of Sarnesfield to build it. John Abel, who was Carpenter to King Charles I, was to provide the materials and was paid £240 for his work.
The school is now housed in modern buildings erected in 1962 and 1973, with other buildings erected more recently, almost all of which have been refurbished between 1990 and 1995 to meet the challenges and demands of recent curriculum developments. The original 1600s building is now in use as a private residence.[4]
The school has a tradition on visiting the nearby parish church, St. Mary's, to give thanks for its foundation and all those who have served in it over three and a half centuries.[2]
Notable former pupils
- Leslie Law, Former British Olympic eventer.[5]
- Ellie Goulding, Music artist.
- Jessica Raine, Actress.
Links and Guides
- ^ "Lady Hawkins' School". Homepage.
- ^ a b "School History". www.lhs.hereford.sch.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
- ^ BBC. "A school with a slaving past". Retrieved 2016-05-16.
- ^ "St Mary's, Kington". Visit Herefordshire Churches. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ^ "Lady Hawkins' School team finds surprise success in seven-school tournament". Hereford Times. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.