Rainford High School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

located in

Rainford Rainford is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England, north of St Helens. At the 2011 Census, the population was 7,779. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the earlies ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, England. Rainford High School opened on August 7, 1940, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as Rainford Senior Council School, with 127 students, one principal, and three teachers. The school was originally a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

. In 1945 the name was changed to Rainford County Secondary School. During the 1950s and 1960s, the school begun to grow in size. By this point, the school became a

Secondary Modern A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

school, entering its pupils for external examinations, including A-Level examinations. The school became a comprehensive on September 7, 1971, with the old system of grammar schools and secondary modern schools abolished, where the school would choose to adopt the name 'Rainford High School'. The school received both

Technology College In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were 59 ...

and Beacon School status in either the 1999/2000 academic year or the 2000/2001 academic year, and the name was changed to 'Rainford High Technology College'. The school was rebuilt as part of the UK government's ''

Building Schools for the Future Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...

'' programme, which fully opened in September 2013. Previously a community school administered by St Helens Council, in September 2017, Rainford High Technology College converted to academy status, and its name was reverted to Rainford High School. The school is now sponsored by and is the founding partner of the Everyone Matters Schools Trust. In 2020, the school applied to St Helens Council to allow for a new,

modular building A modular building is a prefabricated building that consists of repeated sections called modules. Modularity involves constructing sections away from the building site, then delivering them to the intended site. Installation of the prefabricated ...

to be built. St Helens Council accepted planning permission, and in July 2021, with the use of a crane, a new building was airlifted into the site, adding four new classrooms to the school. This also resulted in the temporary closure of some of the school's buildings. This new space opened in September 2021. In 2021, the school was inspected for the first time as an academy by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

, and it continues to hold a good award.

Rainford's Houses

The school used to have 4

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, called Derby, Muncaster, Holland and Lathom. However, in more recent times these houses have not been used. In 2022, the school brought back the house system. The house names are Compassion, Integrity, Determination, Endeavour and Resilience. The first house event was the 2022 annual

Sports Day Sports days (British English) or field days (American English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes. Though they are often h ...

in July 2022. In January 2023, the school began to hand out House Badges (to lower school students) and House Lanyards (to staff and sixth form students). There are 5 of these, with different symbols, and colours to match the houses.

Rainford High Sixth Form

The school also operates a

Sixth Form College A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...

on the same grounds, Rainford High Sixth Form. The Sixth Form shares its specialised facilities (e.g. Music Equipment and Science Labs), and teaching staff with the Rainford High School.

Rainford High Concert Band

The school's largest organisation is the Concert Band for brass, woodwind, and percussion players. It is open to students of all ages (including Sixth Form students) and practices weekly in order to play in local primary schools, and also the main showpiece - the 'Music for a Summer's Evening' concert, usually held in July. A vocal group often performs in the Summer Concert as well. This group offers musical tuition for guitar, piano, brass, percussion and woodwind in order to promote musicianship amongst its students. Sixth Formers are also involved. The group participates in a regular 'Performance Evening' as well as charity music events, such as for Children in Need 2010.

Awards

The school has won, and has been nominated for, a number of awards.

Notable former pupils

Lee Briers Lee Paul Briers (born 14 June 1978) is a professional rugby league coach who is on the coaching staff of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL, and a former Wales international rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Gre ...

, rugby league footballer for

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

Conor Coady Conor David Coady (born 25 February 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Everton, on loan from fellow club Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the England national team. Coady came through the academy system a ...

, footballer, Everton FC * Andrew Harrison (born 1970), CEO of

Carphone Warehouse The Carphone Warehouse Limited was a mobile phone retailer based in London, United Kingdom. In August 2014 the company became a subsidiary of Currys plc (previously named "Dixons Carphone"), which was formed by the merger of its former parent Ca ...

Jonny Lomax } Jonathan Lomax (born 4 September 1990) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays for St Helens in the Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level. A versatile player, Lomax is primarily a but is equ ...

, rugby league footballer for St. Helens *

Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are ''Educating Rita'', ''Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and ''Our Day Out''. Early life Russell was born in Whiston, Lancash ...

, dramatist and composer Rainford High Technology College. School History.

References

External links

Ofsted
{{authority control Secondary schools in St Helens, Merseyside Educational institutions established in 1940 1940 establishments in England Academies in St Helens, Merseyside

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...