Great Ayton Friends' School
Great Ayton Friends' School (1841–1997) in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, England, was an independent, co-educational, agricultural boarding school, run by the Religious Society of Friends (the Quakers).
The school was situated on High Green on an estate of around 70 acres (280,000 m2) in a picturesque setting in the shadow of the Cleveland Hills. The River Leven (a tributary of the River Tees), ran through the school grounds and was bridged in several places.
Quakers in County Durham, having concern for children of disowned Friends who were not eligible for Quaker education, were searching for a suitable site to establish an agricultural school on their behalf. Unable to find a site in the preferred area of Bishop Auckland, Durham Friends sought the assistance of Thomas Richardson, a Quaker from Darlington who had come to live in Great Ayton on his retirement in 1830.
In 1841 the school was established "for the maintenance of 36 boys and the same number of girls belonging to or connected with the Society of Friends; others are admitted at a charge representing about the average cost of each child per annum. There was now accommodation for 80 boarders. The course of instruction embraces Latin, French, Euclid, Geometry, Algebra, and various scientific subjects: Agriculture, Chemistry, Physiology, Botany, etc. The girls are trained either for domestic work or a higher sphere of life".
An estate of nearly 70 acres (280,000 m2) was purchased for the purposes of the school, and many additions were made to the premises.
Disownment for 'marrying out' ended in 1854, and the school changed with the times, becoming the Friends' School.
From 1935 to 1942 the school hosted nearly 40 refugees from the Nazi regime.
The school gradually attracted greater numbers of pupils until there was no room large enough to contain all of the 300 pupils. In 1968 the Meeting House was enlarged to accommodate the complete student body.
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