Nottingham High School is a private, coeducational day school in Nottingham, England, consisting of an infant and junior school (ages 4âÂÂ11), and senior school (ages 11âÂÂ18). It was founded in 1513 by Dame Agnes Mellers, as a free grammar school for boys, with a charter signed by Henry VIII. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and has been coeducational since 2015.
There were 1186 students enrolled as at December 2025, of whom 262 were in the sixth form.
In 1513, the "Free School" was founded by Dame Agnes Mellers, after the death of her husband Richard, partly in his memory, but also as atonement for wrongdoings against the people of Nottingham. To do so she enlisted help from Sir Thomas Lovell as governor of Nottingham Castle and Secretary to the Treasury. Through their combined efforts, Henry VIII sealed the school's foundation deed on the 22 November that year. It is unclear whether this was a new institution or an endowment of an existing school, of which records exist back to 1289. Almost 20,000 boys are estimated to have attended between 1513 and 2013.
In the foundation deed, Mellers provided for a commemoration service in St Mary's Church in the Lace Market "on the Feast of the Translation of St Richard of Chichester, namely 16 June" each year, although the service "is now held on the nearest Saturday to that date." With the exception of Nottingham Goose Fair, this is the most ancient ceremonial event still held in the city of Nottingham, and the oldest still largely in its original form (the Goose Fair now being a funfair rather than a livestock fair), although there seems to be no record of it being held between the mid-16th century and its revival in 1923.
The College of Arms granted the school a coat of arms in 1949, the full blazon being:
The motto, Lauda finem, is Latin for "praise [to] the end".
An annual Remembrance Day service on 11 November is attended by the whole school with the headmaster, president of the Old Nottinghamians and the school captain placing wreaths at the war memorial. Scholars attend a morning special assembly usually in the Player Hall, at which a minute's silence is observed. Representatives of the school's Combined Cadet Force mark their respect with a parade around the main school building.
Since 1868 the school has stood high on Waverley Mount to the north of the city centre, looking down towards its foundation site in St Mary's Church and later building in Stoney Street. The present site has undergone a long programme of building and development.
An example of Gothic Revival architecture, the first school building on the present site, built between 1866 and 1867, was designed by Thomas Simpson. It consists of a tower and three wings: West Wing, Middle Corridor, and East Wing. West Wing houses classrooms for mathematics, English and geography. Housed in Middle Corridor are the learning support department, two ICT centres, two language laboratories, religious studies classrooms, two multi-purpose lecture theatres, the school library, and staff offices. East Wing contains the old gymnasium, the Player assembly hall and classrooms for modern languages, history, and classics. The school front and other features are Grade II listed.
To the west, the Founder Hall building was built in 1963 to mark the school's 450th anniversary. It includes the school's swimming pool and the Founder Hall itself, and acts as a performing venue to supplement the Player Hall. A drama studio was added in 2013 to mark the school's 500th anniversary.
The Simon Djanogly Science Building from 1984 is situated to the south west with 13 laboratories for all three sciences. A 25-yard CCF shooting range remains in the basement. The building was opened on 2 March 1984 by the Duke of Edinburgh.
In front of the science building is the music school, completed in 1997. This houses the Lady Carol Djanogly Recital Hall, the Jones Trust Music Room, a music technology studio, a resources centre, seven instrumental teaching rooms, and a larger brass teaching room, a percussion studio and a classroom for Infant and Junior School pupils.
In 1989 a sports hall was built on land to the north-east of the site formerly occupied by fives court and a shooting range.
In the north-west corner is the Sir Harry Djanogly Art, Design and Technology Centre. The ground floor was built in the mid-1990s, and a first floor was added in the 2003/2004 academic year.
Waverley House School, to the west of the main site, was purchased in 2008. Its buildings were refurbished and renamed the Lovell House Infant School. In 2013, this single-sex establishment was combined with the Junior School to form Nottingham High Infant and Junior School.
The school's games field is not on the main site but at Valley Road, approximately to the north. Historically farmland from as early as 1878, namely Harvey's Farm; then briefly Hucknall Road Farm in 1920, it was converted to use as a playing field around 1960. It features a number of rugby pitches and posts during winter, which are converted for athletics in the spring, with a running track and areas for shot put, javelin, discus, pole vault, hurdles and high jump. During the summer, the ground is used for cricket, with nets put up and squares re-established for the season. Tennis courts, netball courts, and an archery range are also located there. The pavilion has several changing rooms on the ground and first floors, and a refreshment area for staff and guests. Until 1897, boys played sports and had their PE lessons at the Forest Recreation Ground.
The junior and senior schools both have four houses, each named after a person connected with the school. The house system plays an integral role in school life.
The junior school's four houses are named after former pupils or staff who served with distinction in the First World War and were killed in action or died of their wounds. Ball's House recalls Albert Ball, a fighter pilot in the RFC and pupil at the school in 1907âÂÂ1909, Hardy's House Theodore Hardy, an assistant master in 1891âÂÂ1907 and a British Army chaplain in 1916âÂÂ1918, Tonkin's House FC Tonkin, a former pupil who served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps, and Trease's House Reginald Trease, a pupil at the school in 1898âÂÂ1905. However, in 2025, for the purpose of bringing the Junior and Senior school together, the Junior School now uses the Senior School Houses( Mellers', Maples, Cooper's and Whites)
The four houses in the senior school are Mellers', named after the school's founder, Cooper's, named after Frederick Cooper, an artist who in 1872 donated almost of land to the school, Maples', named after Samuel Maples, a former pupil who bequeathed ã3,000 to fund scholarships in 1892, and White's, after Sir Thomas White, who endowed a charity to provide interest-free loans to "young men of good name and thrift" in the Midlands, some money from which was lent to the school in slightly questionable circumstances in the mid-19th century).
Nottingham High School offers a wide range of GCSE, Advanced Subsidiary-Level (AS-level) and General Certificate of Education Advanced-Level (GCE A-level) subjects. Many are also studied by younger pupils at the school in years seven and nine.
Sixth-form subjects include Ancient Greek, art, biology, chemistry, classical civilization, computer science, design and technology, drama, economics, English language, English literature, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), French, further mathematics, geography, government and politics, German, history, Latin, mathematics, music, music technology, physical education, physics, psychology, religious studies, statistics, and Spanish.
Some of a 1990 episode of the TV series "Boon", starring Michael Elphick, was filmed at the school, with some pupils as extras. The story was entitled "Bully Boys", the sixth episode of the fifth series, broadcast on 30 October 1990. The main playground, the Bridge Library (now the library reception), and the Valley Road playing fields were shown.
Kevin Fear (the then school's headmaster) and certain boys, were filmed by ITV for a news story shown as part of the news programme "ITV News Central". Filming took place at several school locations, including the headmaster's office, various classrooms and the Lower School Library. The news was that the school had announced it would admit girls â for the first time in its 500-year history â from 2015/2016.
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Resigned or retired<br/> â Died in office<br/> â¡ Never assumed post
Brian Garnet (headmaster 1565 â c. 1575) is notable as the father of the Jesuit priest Henry Garnet, who was executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot.
All former pupils and staff members are granted the title "Old Nottinghamian". For more than a century, the Old Nottinghamians' Society has existed continuously, with its origins dating back to 1897, at which time it was called the NHS Dinner Committee. Between 1902 and 1961 it was known as the Nottingham High School Old Boys' Society.