A SCHOOL in York is just days away from a big celebration to mark 205 years of teaching the city’s children.

From the Merchant Taylor’s Hall to Millfield Lane, Nether Poppleton - for over two centuries Manor CE School, now Manor Academy, has occupied six different sites, employed 18 head teachers – and educated tens of thousands of youngsters.

To celebrate, a special anniversary service will be held at York Minster on March 6.

In the spring of 1812, George III was King, Charles Dickens had just been born and Britain was at war with Napoleon. And in York, a group with church connections had an idea: to set up a school for poor children.

The York Diocesan Board of the National Society for the Education of the Poor was formed on 13 March 1812. Its mission: to set up a school in York for the children of the ‘labouring classes’, one that was designed to turn them into ‘useful and respected members of society’.

The school opened on May 21 1812. It had just one master – 24-year-old Samuel Danby, who had been appointed on a salary of £30 a year – and 200 pupils with a minimum age of six. Much of the teaching was done by older boys known as monitors who helped the master in his work, receiving their own education before and after the normal school day. Manor became a pioneer in teacher training, which led to the opening of St John’s College in York in 1841, now York St John University.

York Press:

The school moved to King’s Manor in January 1813. It took the name ‘Manor’ from King’s Manor, which it shared with a blind school and was its home for 109 years. Inadequate facilities and growing student numbers prompted a move to Marygate in 1922 and, after the Baedeker Raid of April 1942 in which the school was badly damaged, a further move to Priory Street was necessary.

Manor moved to its first purpose-built premises in Low Poppleton Lane, Boroughbridge Road, in 1965. In 1985, Manor became a comprehensive and increased in size to 600 students and the current school building opened its doors in Millfield Lane, Nether Poppleton, in 2009 and The Hive, comprising a professional theatre space and dance studio opened two years later.

Current head Simon Barber said: “We are very much looking forward to our Founders’ Day celebrations when we can watch the students of today celebrate the students of the past. I do hope that many past pupils, teachers and governors are able to join our current school community.”

The Minster service will be open to the public. Admission is free, but tickets can be booked online in advance at www.manorceacademy.org/205 Manor is currently running a #ManorMoments campaign on social media, sharing key moments and facts about the school.