Schools
Letchworth hosts a mixture of both private and state schools. State secondary schools are The Highfield School, a Specialist Science Status school, and Fearnhill School, a Maths and Computing College. Fearnhill had formerly been the town's grammar school until comprehensive schools were introduced in the 1960. Letchworth Grammar School had originally occupied prominent buildings in the centre of the town which are now used by various local authority services, but which are still known as the 'Grammar School buildings' and which still displays the former school's name over its doors.
The private schools in Letchworth are St Christopher School and single-sex girls' school St. Francis' College. St. Christopher School is arguably the most famous school in Letchworth, it is vegetarian and has a strong Quaker ethos. It originally occupied the St Francis College site where some of its original buildings remain, one of which displays a foundation stone bearing the name of Annie Besant and including some of the "open air" classrooms which remain in use to this day (albeit adapted slightly). Both schools admit both boarders and day-pupils.
The Knights Templar School is another local school. Although in the neighbouring town of Baldock, many children from Letchworth are taught there, especially following the closure of Norton School in 2002 which, for its final year of operation was called Knights Templar (Letchworth). Teacher shortages at the school had led to significant numbers of temporary staff, with the quality of teaching by some staff deemed unsatisfactory by an Ofsted report. It was the second of Letchworth's original four secondary schools to close, following the former Willian School which closed in 1991.
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