500th School Anniversary

Nottingham High School celebrates 500 years

Inside a classroom
Inside a classroom Photo: Nottingham High School

Nottingham High School was founded in 1513, just four years after Henry VIII came to the throne. Dame Agnes Mellers was a wealthy widow who donated land and property to finance a school "evermore to endure," providing "teaching and instruction of boys in good manners and literature".

A charter from Henry VIII on display at the exhibition
A charter from Henry VIII on display at the exhibition Credit: Nottingham High School

An exhibition is opening tomorrow to mark the school's 500th anniversary, exploring the school's relationship with the local community, and celebrating its famous ex-pupils. Among them are:

  • Ken Clarke MP
  • Ed Balls MP
  • DH Lawrence, writer
  • Jesse Boot, founder of Boots Company
  • Ed Davey MP
  • Kenneth Adam, former controller of the BBC
  • Gordon Richardson, former Governor of the Bank of England
  • Henry Nwume, Bobsleigh Olympian
Boys on bikes – features in this photo are still there today, spilling out of Forest Road West entrance
Boys on bikes – features in this photo are still there today, spilling out of Forest Road West entrance Credit: Nottingham High School

Among the famous names on the register was the Rev T.B.Hardy who went on to be the highest awarded non-combatant in the first world war with a D.S.O. and Victoria Cross. He died of his injuries in a field hospital at Rouen in 1918 at the age of 56. He is featured below.

Pupils in the late 1890s
Pupils in the late 1890s Credit: Nottingham High School

The school was originally built in the town's Lace Market, and moved to its site on Waverley Mount in 1868.