It was opposite the London Chest Hospital, just off the Old Ford Road and in the parish of St James-the-Less, Bethnal Green.

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.

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.

In 1913, the school moved to Arbour Square in Stepney; the building still stands today and is part of Tower Hamlets College.

[citation needed] 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.

In January 2020 Tower Hamlets London Borough Council made the decision to close the school due to low pupil numbers.

[1] The school formally closed in August 2020. Notable past pupils include: