Raine's Foundation School

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 before closure the school had two separate buildings, one for Years 7 and 8, and one for Year 9 and above. From September 2010, due to works associated with the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme, 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.

• Name — Raine's Foundation School • Motto — Come in and learn your duty to God and man • Closed — 2020 • Type — Voluntary aided school • Religious Affiliation — Church of England • Founder — Henry Raine • Address — Approach Road • City — Bethnal Green • County — London • Country — England, UK • Postal Code — E2 9LY • Local Authority — Tower Hamlets • Ofsted — yes • Urn — 100979 • Enrolment — 815 • Gender — Mixed • Lower Age — 11 • Upper Age — 18 • Colours — Black, blue • Free Label1 — Former name • Free Text1 — Raine's Foundation Grammar School

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". The site still exists and is called Raine's House 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.

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 to prepare for army service in the war. The separation for boys and girls continued until 1964; even the hall was separated by a hinged folding wooden dividing wall.

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. The school formally closed in August 2020.

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