History
The school was founded in 1708 by Mr Bryan Blundell and the Rev Robert Styth as "a school for teaching poor children to read, write and cast accounts". The original Blue Coat School expanded rapidly and a new building, the present Bluecoat Arts Centre, opened in 1718. At the start of the 20th century it was decided that the school needed to move from the polluted town centre to somewhere quieter, and the village of Wavertree was the site chosen. The architects chosen for the design of the new building were Briggs, Wolstenholme & Thornely, most notable for the design of the Port of Liverpool Building. In 1906 the school took possession of the building and was later designated a Grade II* listed building. Later additions include a clock tower and the Fenwick Memorial Chapel: used for assemblies by the school.
At 7.00pm on 25 August 1958 a fire broke out at the school, on the roof of the North Front. Although 170 boarding pupils were in the building at the time, nobody was hurt during the fire, though the building sustained some water and smoke damage.
Read more about this topic: Liverpool Blue Coat School
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