Latymer Upper School’s ethos of social inclusivity is as strong today as it was almost 400 years ago when the Latymer Foundation at Hammersmith came into being. Our story starts in 1624 when a prosperous lawyer, Edward Latymer, left part of his wealth for the clothing and education of “eight poore boyes” from Hammersmith.
Edward Latymer’s vision was to offer his wards a life-changing education that would equip them to flourish in the wider world. This vision remains firmly at the heart of the School – although today we teach rather more than those original eight Hammersmith boys. Latymer Upper School now consists of a vibrant, co-educational student body of 1,400 girls and boys from a diverse range of backgrounds, and a further 170 pupils at Latymer Prep School.
The School’s ongoing Inspiring Minds bursary campaign is Latymer’s most ambitious to date. The aim of Inspiring Minds is to raise £40m by the Latymer Foundation’s 400th anniversary in 2024, enabling the School to support one in four pupils with a means-tested bursary.
As the Head, David Goodhew explains:
“I want Latymer to be a school for young people from right across the community, where the only criteria for admission are ability and potential.”
The aims of Latymer Upper School
- To provide an opportunity for academically able students from all walks of life to develop their talents to the full
- To provide a choice of academic courses taught to the highest level in a broad, imaginative and developing curriculum, supported by a wide range of extracurricular activities, thereby giving all children the opportunity to excel in both their academic studies and their extra-curricular activities
- To encourage independence of thought and approach in the pursuit of excellence in all activities
- To educate our children into a recognition of their wider social responsibilities, particularly through educational activities including community links and partnership schools, to prepare them to become active citizens within their community
- To maintain a focused environment within which an awareness of the needs of others and respect for all members of the community – children, teachers, support staff and parents – is paramount
- To recognise and celebrate the richness and diversity of the range of cultural, religious and social backgrounds within our school community
- To encourage in all Latymerians a pride in their school and the wish to exemplify to the world our values of tolerance, respect and intellectual curiosity
- To inspire a love of learning and of life. Through support, guidance and encouragement we seek to nurture self-confidence and resilience in our pupils to enable them to achieve to the highest academic standards, to find self-fulfilment and to be happy
Educational vision of the School
Our vision is to be the leading co-educational school in the United Kingdom, providing young people from all backgrounds with a life-changing education that equips and inspires them to make a positive impact on society and to excel in the wider world. Latymer Upper School is first and foremost a ‘learning school’, vibrant, global in perspective, innovative in its teaching and learning and combining the best of the traditional and the modern. A high value is placed on scholarship in both pupils and staff and the School prides itself on the excellence of its teaching and pastoral care, its academic achievements and its exciting and innovative curriculum.
Latymer seeks to achieve the following educational outcome for its pupils:
- independent learning and research
- critical thinking, analysis and evaluation
- written, oral and multi-media communication skills
- collaborative working and problem-solving
- intercultural knowledge and understanding
- knowledge and understanding across a wide variety of disciplines
- capacity for creativity and imagination
- a love of learning