Yorkshire’s oldest schools with some dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries including Kings School in Pontefract, The Minster School in York and St Peter’s School

Some of the oldest schools in the country, or even the world, are still existing to this day from as far back as the seventh century, known as the Christian Era. York, being one of the oldest cities in the region, inhabits schools that have stood the test of time, including The Minster School, which only closed in 2020, and St Peter’s School.

Leeds was one of a number of local authorities to try the three-tier system of first, middle and secondary schools and reverted to the two-tier system in 1992. Bradford Grammar School existed since the mid-16th century, while Ripon Grammar School, a state secondary school, is thought to be dated back to the Saxon times.

With Yorkshire’s rich history, it’s no surprise that it is home to some of the oldest schools in the country. We have compiled a list below along with a glimpse into their history.

Oldest schools in Yorkshire

The Minster School, York

The Minster School was an independent preparatory school for children between the ages of three and 13 and was founded in 627 by Paulinus of York, the first Archbishop of York, to educate choristers at York Minster.

It was Grade II listed and was in service until June 2020 when it was announced that the school would close at the end of that term due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

St Peter's School, York

St Peter’s School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school, also known as a public school, with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse. It was founded by St Paulinus of York in 627 AD and is thought to be the third oldest school in the world and is part of the York Boarding Schools Group.

The school accepts pupils aged two to 18. For most of its history, the school was a boys’ school, but also welcomed girls into the sixth form from 1976 before becoming fully co-educational in 1987.

Beverley Grammar School

This is a boys’ day secondary academy school and is thought to have been established around 700 AD and as such is considered to be the country’s oldest grammar school and the eighth oldest school in the world.

The present school shares a joint Sixth form with Beverley High School and has received an ‘Outstanding’ in Ofsted inspections in 2006, 2008 and in 2010.

The exact date of the school’s foundation is unknown but it is believed to be as old as Beverley Minster. Ketell’s Miracles of St John, which dates back to around the year 1100, mentions a schoolmaster at Beverley.

The school disappeared at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries.

King's School, Pontefract

The King’s School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status and is one of the four oldest schools in Yorkshire, dating back to 1139 and was refounded by King Edward VI in 1548.

There is not much documentation available from its early years, and was refounded following the reign of King Edward VI and has been linked with the Duchy of Lancaster since 1588 when it was given an endowment to allow it to continue functioning.

It was refounded again in 1792 by George III who is the eponymous king and there were annual payments of £50 by the Duchy of Lancaster until 1869, however, it closed in the 1880s but reopened in May 1890 and has continued to exist to the present day.

Northallerton School

This co-educational secondary school is located over two sites on Brompton Road and Grammar School Lane.

It was founded between 1322 and 1323, and in its early history it was known as Northallerton Free School. Parts of the old school building can be seen adjacent to All Saints’ Church near the north end of Northallerton High Street. The Grammar School moved to the Grammar School Lane site in 1909.

Penistone Grammar School

This secondary school and sixth form was founded in 1392 and is the 45th oldest extant school in England with its most famous alumnus being Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the 18th century.

The school has undergone many expansions over the years, which required for several new buildings and now houses more than 1,700 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18.

The school was called Free Grammar School of Penistone at the time of its founding and it is recorded that a gift of land was made by Thomas Clarel, Lord of the Manor.

After the dissolution of the chantries, the school was rebuilt in 1714.

Rotherham Grammar School

Rotherham Grammar School was a boys’ grammar school and was founded in 1482 by Thomas Rotherham; it was then named the College of Jesus in Rotherham. It was both a school and a religious institution.

In March 1482 he started to build a brick building to house his college, on the site of his birthplace in Brookgate, and provided an endowment to fund a Provost and three Fellows.

It closed in 1967.

Ermysted's Grammar School

Ermysted’s Grammar School is an 11-18 boys’ voluntary aided grammar school in Skipton and was founded by Peter Toller, first recorded in his will in 1492, and is thought to be the seventh oldest state school in Britain.

The school operates a house system; Toller, Ermysted, Petyt and Hartley and are named after key figures in the school’s history.

Notable former pupils include Oscar winning film writer, Simon Beaufoy, known for The Full Monty and Slumdog Millionaire, Rugby League player, Herbie Farnworth, and BBC journalist, Chris Mason.

Giggleswick School

This public school was founded in 1499 and leased by the Prior and Convent of Durham, to James Carr, the chantry priest at the parish Church of St Alkelda.

The school was run by the chantry priests until Edward VI dissolved the position and was saved by the petition of the King’s Chaplain, John Nowell and received its royal charter in 1553.

2023 marks its 524th anniversary and the only remaining part of the second school, the covered courtyard, was converted into a shooting range, used by the school’s Combined Cadet Force contingent.

Bingley Grammar School

The voluntary aided school for students between the ages of 11 and 18 was a specialist school for Business and Enterprise from 2006 to 2011 and was founded in 1529, when a number of wealthy benefactors from among the people of Bingley provided a trust to support the education of the young people of the town.

From 2007, the Foundation Trust Governors meet each term to manage the assets of the trust and to make sure that the proceeds are used to improve the education of pupils of the school.

Notable former alumni of the school include Benjamin Gott, a leading figure in the industrial revolution, Simon Haughton, an international Rugby League player who represented Wigan, England and Great Britain and Sir Fred Hoyle, an astronomer who was commemorated by a blue plaque outside the reception from the Institute of Physics.

Archbishop Holgate's School

The co-educational Church of England secondary school and sixth form, with academy status, was founded as Archbishop Holgate’s Grammar School in 1546 by Robert Holgate, who was the Archbishop of York at the time.

The connection between the school and successive Archbishops of York has been continuous throughout its history.

Notable former pupils at the school include James Crossley, a bodybuilder and contestant on ITV’s The Circle series three, Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC, Royal Air Force (RAF) Second World War fighter and bomber pilot and Ben Godfrey, a footballer.

Ripon Grammar School

This co-educational, boarding and day, selective grammar school, one of the very few in the north of England, is believed to have been founded in Saxon times. But the first documentary proof of its existence is dated 1348, when Ricardum le Chamberlayn, described as ‘the former master of the schoolhouse’, was one of 138 people who failed to appear before the Court of the King’s Bench.

It has been named top-performing state school in the north for nine consecutive years by The Sunday Times and is one of the best-performing schools in the north of England.

Leeds Grammar School

Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded in 1552, originally a male-only school and in August 2005 it joined with Leeds Girls’ High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds.

It was founded by William Sheafield to provide free, subsidised or fee-paying education to the children of the City of Leeds.

Notable alumni include: Thomas T Adamson-Coumbousis, Channel 4 TV reporter and producer, Dave Syers, professional footballer for Bradford City, Ricky Wilson, lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs and Mark Kielesz-Levine, TV journalist and presenter.

Bradford Grammar School

The co-educational independent day school was founded in 1548 and granted its Charter by King Charles II in 1662.

The Reverend William Hulton Keeling became the headmaster in 1871 and by 1895, the school was considered as one of the best public schools.

The main school building was used as a Primary Training Centre during the Second World War and there is still evidence of this around the building.

There were a few notable figures who went to this school including John Sharp, the Archbishop of York from 1645 to 1714, John Lawrence Hammond, a historian and journalist, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, an archaeologist and broadcaster, Sir Ken Morrison, former executive chairman of Morrisons and the son of the supermarket chain founder, Ashley Metcalfe, former Yorkshire County Cricket Club cricketer, Adrian Moorhouse, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, Richard Nerurkar, marathon and 10,000 metres runner, Robert Hardy, bassist of Franz Ferdinand and Jon Sen, executive producer of Eastenders.

Tadcaster Grammar School

Tadcaster Grammar School was founded in 1557 by Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, and educates children aged 11 to 18 years old.

It merged with Dawson’s Girls’ School in the beginning of the 20th century and moved to the site of Toulston Lodge in 1960. It is thought that Toulston Lodge once belonged to Oliver Cromwell.

Richmond School

The exact date of when the school was founded is unknown but earliest records exist since 1361 and was awarded a charter ratifying its status in March 1568 by Queen Elizabeth I and was one of the first grammar schools in England.

It was built on what is now known as the churchyard of St Mary’s Church.