Latymer Upper School

Latymer Upper School is a co-educational public school in Hammersmith, London, England, between King Street and the River Thames. It derives from a charity school founded in 1624 by the English merchant Edward Latymer, which has existed continually since. With approximately 1,200 pupils, most students are admitted to the Upper School through examination and interview at the age of eleven, with some also entering into the Sixth Form at 16. The school's academic results place it among the top schools nationally, and it has historically accepted under 10% of applicants.[lower-alpha 1]

For the grammar school in Edmonton, London, see The Latymer School.

Latymer Upper School
Address
King Street

Hammersmith
,
London
,
W6 9LR

United Kingdom
Coordinates51.492°N 0.237°W / 51.492; -0.237
Information
TypePublic school
Independent day school
MottoLatin: Paulatim ergo certe
(Slowly Therefore Surely)
Religious affiliation(s)Church of England
Established1624 (1624)
FounderEdward Latymer
Sister schoolGodolphin and Latymer School
Local authorityHammersmith and Fulham
Department for Education URN100370 Tables
HeadSusan Wijeratna[1]
Staff180 full time, 37 music staff
GenderCo-educational since 2004 (Formerly all-boys)
Age7 to 18
Enrolment1,284
Colour(s)Black, blue and white
     
PublicationThe Latymerian
Former pupilsOld Latymerians
Boat ClubLatymer Upper School Boat Club
Websitewww.latymer-upper.org

Having moved to its present site in 1863, the school spent a period of time in the mid-20th century as a direct grant grammar school, before becoming independent with the system's abolition in the 1970s. Remaining single-sex until 1996, when Sixth Form admissions were opened to girls, the school transitioned to full co-education in the first decade of the 21st century.

Latymer has been consistently ranked among the leading schools in the country academically. Its list of alumni include diplomats, numerous former and current members of both Houses of Parliament, the winners of several Olympic medals, and many prominent figures in the arts and sciences.

History

Origins
The school ca. 1890

Latymer Upper School was founded in 1624 by Edward Latymer, a wealthy lawyer and puritan, who left part of his wealth for the clothing and education of "eight poore boyes" from Hammersmith. For the next twenty years, local boys were educated in a school erected in Fulham's churchyard, moving in 1648 to another school built in Hammersmith. Later, in 1657, a parochial charity school was set up, which served as the Latymer legacy for the following century until it was rebuilt in 1755.

A new facility was built on what is now King Street in Hammersmith in 1863, and was replaced in 1890 with a new building between King Street and the Thames. This structure persists to the present day as the core of the Upper School. The site also includes Latymer Prep, a preparatory school, which takes pupils aged 7 to 11.

Recent history

In the 1950s, the school was a direct grant grammar school, which took large numbers of state school pupils, whose fees were paid by the local authority, solely on the basis of merit. At the same time, it continued to take some fee-paying pupils. The Direct Grant system was abolished from 1975, and the school became fully independent of government funding. The Sixth Form has been co-educational since 1996, and in 2004 the main school started to become co-educational, with the introduction of girls into Year 7. With that year's entry moving into Year 11, the school became fully co-educational by 2008. Each year, the school gathers in the nearby St. Paul's church for "Founder's Day", an annual reflection upon and celebration of Edward Latymer and other benefactors of the school. As a member of the HMC it is a public school.

Student body

Pupils come from a wide area of London. 176 pupils are on means-tested bursaries, 70 of whom are on 100 per cent bursaries. A school statement in the Good Schools Guide said: "We attract a real mix from city investors, media types and academics living in leafy streets through to families on the White City estate, which is surely better than just those from a privileged bubble mixing with each other".[2]

Finances

Tuition for 2020 was £21,000 per year, plus other mandatory and optional fees.[3]

Latymer offers a bursary programme, with 176 pupils on means-tested bursaries.[4][5] For families with incomes unable to pay the fees, Latymer Upper is free.[6] The school has a substantial fund from donations ring-fenced to fund bursaries.[7][8]

Academics

Latymer Upper School is one of the highest academically performing schools in the UK historically and to date.[9] The school's own on-site prep pupils enter the Upper School automatically at the end of Year 6, Tatler Schools Guide commentated that 'competition for Latymer places is hotter than ever: 1,100 applicants sat the exam last spring; 400 were interviewed for 168 places'.[9] The examined subjects are in English and Maths, which are followed by an interview. There were 33 Oxbridge places in 2017, and an increasing number went to US universities such as Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Pennsylvania and Yale.[10]

Activities

There are over 140 clubs and societies at Latymer, including the J. S. Mill, Literary and Latymer Societies. There are also clubs for bridge, chess, debating, philosophy and photography. The Drama Society holds several productions each year.[11]

The school has links with other schools across Europe with a joint orchestra, as well as other trips (such as work experience), with Godolphin and Latymer School. There are trips abroad throughout the year, such as skiing trips, language exchanges, work experience in Paris, Berlin and Stockholm, Classics trips to Italy and Greece, sports tours and expeditions. Latymer Upper also participates in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.[12]

Latymer contributes to local music, art, drama, dance and sports projects, as well as acting as venue for a Sunday School and Scuba diving for the disabled. Sixth Form students are encouraged to help in local primary schools and old people's homes as part of their general studies program, as well as with groups helping the homeless and disabled. In addition, the school offers all students a trip every year in 'Activities Week'. Destinations have included Spain, the Ardèche gorge in the south of France.[13]

Extracurricular

The PE department offer extracurricular programmes. Optional sports include rugby, cricket, rowing, athletics, football, tennis, cross-country, fencing, karate, scuba diving, table tennis, squash, badminton and swimming. Over 700 students are currently learning to play a musical instrument, with 175 involved in the school's two full orchestras and five string orchestras and around 150 in the choirs.

Rowing

The Latymer Upper School Boat Club has been open for over a century to school pupils, and offers rowing to both genders.[14] The boat house has taught three Olympic rowers, including Andy Holmes, Olympic gold medal rower (1984 Games and 1988 Games),[15][16] Henry Fieldman, Olympic bronze medal rower (2020 Games) and the Olympic Silver medallist Jim Clark was a coach. The Boat Club has gone on to win Henley Royal Regatta, most recently with the win of the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup.[17][18]

Facilities

Academic facilities
Latymer Performing Arts Centre

The Main Hall is the primary building around which the rest of the campus is grouped; it is used for assemblies. It is the original Victorian school building. The Design block at one end of the main hall houses the Design & Technology labs. The Modern languages block is a 1960s building housing the modern and classical languages departments. The Latymer Theatre and Arts Centre, opened in 2000, includes a 300-seat galleried box theatre, music practice rooms, art galleries and studios, plus a cafe and atrium area. The Latymer Performing Arts Centre, completed in 2009, contains drama studios, rehearsal rooms and a 150-seat recital hall.[19] The Science and Library building, opened in 2010, includes labs for the three sciences and a library with seating for more than 200 pupils which occupies a floor at the base. Van Heyningen and Haward Architects were responsible for the design and delivery of these four buildings during a ten-year working relationship with the school.[20]

Athletic facilities
  • The Latymer Upper School boat club faces the Thames and spans four stories.
  • The Sports Centre was opened in March 2016, which includes a six-lane swimming pool, basketball hoops, badminton markings, cricket nets, a fitness suite, and a rock climbing wall whilst at the same time offering an area for all pupils to take their examinations.[21]
  • The school's playing fields are about a mile and a half away, on Wood Lane, with a £2m sports pavilion and changing rooms completed in 2004. The playing fields are used for training by the England Rugby Team[22]
  • The Sports pavilion, costing £2m and containing changing rooms was opened in 2004.

Other facilities
  • The chapel is housed at the top of the Geography & History building.

Coat of arms

The school for many years used the armorial bearings of the founder, Edward Latymer. This included his motto, paulatim ergo certe ("Slowly therefore surely"), which doubled as a pun, including the word "latimer" (spelt thus as there is no letter y in Latin). An intermediate coat of arms was taken from one of the quarters of the original coat of arms which combined that of the Latymer Foundation and of the Latymer School. In 2004, the motto was simplified, before being changed again to its current form in September 2020.[23] The original arms continue to be used, with a different motto, by the sister school, The Latymer School.

Public examination results

Latymer has been ranked consistently in the leading schools in the country academically based on the merit of its position in the national GCSE and A level examination performance tables combined with one of the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rates of any secondary school or college.

GCSE & A-Level summaries over five years[24]

GCSE summary[24] A level summary
YEAR %A* %A*A %A*AB
2019 77.8 92.1 98.2
2018 70.8 90.0 97.5
2017 70.6 91.2 98.5
2016 61.6 86.9 97.7
2015 69.7 92.2 98.8
YEAR %A* %A*A %A*AB
2019 31.8 70.7 91.2
2018 29.4 66.9 90.6
2017 34.8 74.7 92.2
2016 32.0 75.8 95.2
2015 32.1 73.3 91.7

Old Latymerians

Politics
Joshua Rozenberg

Film and theatre
Hugh Grant
Toby Regbo
Alan Rickman

Music
Raphael Wallfisch

Sport

Other fields
Heston Blumenthal
Bill Emmott
Jim Smith
Frederick Vine

Notable former staff

See also

Notes
  1. In 2016

References
  1. "New Head announced for Latymer Upper School". RS Academics. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. "Latymer Upper School, London". Good Schools Guide. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  3. School Fees Information
  4. "The dilemma of a left-leaning private school teacher". Tes. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  5. Connington, James (17 October 2015). "Can't afford private school fees? You may not have to pay". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. Viña, Gonzalo (28 April 2016). "Britain's private schools offer record bursaries". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  7. Lough, Catherine (28 February 2020). "Revealed: Private schools with the highest surpluses". TES. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  8. Bray, Paul (28 March 2013). "Private school bursaries: helping talent shine through". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  9. "Latymer Upper School". tatler.com. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  10. "A-Level Results: Another record-breaking year!". www.latymer-upper.org. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  11. Clubs Archived 2008-07-08 at the Wayback Machine Latymer Upper School
  12. Clubs, Activities and Trips Archived 2009-01-31 at the Wayback Machine Latymer Upper School
  13. Activities Week Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine Latymer Upper School
  14. "Inside the mind of a Team GB rowing cox ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". South West Londoner. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  15. Quarrell, Rachel (25 October 2010). "Death of double Olympic champion Andy Holmes sparks health alert for rowers". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  16. "Tributes to Olympic rower Holmes". BBC News. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  17. "Henley Royal Regatta Day 4 - as it happened". www.henleystandard.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  18. Quarrell, Rachel (5 July 2019). "German eight on last warning after repeat offence at Henley Royal Regatta". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  19. New Music Building Building, Latymer Upper School
  20. "van Heyningen & Haward: Latymer Upper School, West London". Architecture Today. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  21. "New Sports Centre opens - LUS".
  22. "The England rugby squad trains at the Kensington Latymer Upper School..." Getty Images. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
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  30. "The trickle-down effect has dried up | News". Thisislondon.co.uk. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
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  33. The Cambridge University List of Members. Cambridge University Press. 1991. p. 650.
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  35. Tibbetts, Graham (24 October 2008). "Harry Potter Star Alan Rickman Funds School Bursary". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  36. Landwehr, Richard (2012). Britisches Freikorps: British Volunteers of the Waffen-SS 1943–1945 (3 ed.). Vermont: Merriam Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-3127-6244-2.
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