| AdminHistory | The Old Raineians' Association is a vehicle for current and former pupils and staff of the Raines's Foundation School, to maintain contact through regular newsletters and reunions. The school itself, was the oldest school building in the East End of London, until its closure in 2020. Raine's Foundation School underwent various changes of name, and occupied different sites in the area, most recently Approach Road in Bethnal Green.
The origins of Raine's Foundation School, and thus, later on the Old Raineians' Association, is attributable to Henry Raine (1679-1738), a wealthy local brewer and devout churchman. In 1719, he reorganised a charitable school in order to provide an education for a small number of local children, at a site in what is now Raine Street, off Wapping Lane. At that point, the area fell within the parish of St. George's-in-the-East, with pupils drawn from families who followed the Anglican tradition. The school's objective was to fit children for apprenticeships to local tradespeople or for domestic service. Raine established a charitable foundation in a way that linked the school and the parish for many years. The school was later based at Arbour Square, Stepney (in 1939).
More recently, the Old Raineians' Association have confronted the issue of school closures. A proposal from LBTH to close the school was leaked via social media in June 2019. Raine's had celebrated its tercentenary just days before. Despite local protests and appeals to the Schools Adjudicator, the school was finally closed in August 2020.
Trustees of the school have expressed their interest in supporting educational initiatives, especially among the disadvantaged, and in helping ' helping young people to survive and achieve'. In describing current plans as 'a work in progress', the trustees have recently welcomed three churches into the former school building.
Against this backdrop, the Old Raineians' Association continues to promote their cause via the internet and social media. Its Facebook page recalls much of the school's contemporary and more distant history, as does its twice yearly Old Raineians' Newsletter.
Sources of information:
Old Raineians' Association Online
Rainesfoundation.org.uk
'Raine's School Closure ': East London Advertiser,31st January, 2020.
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