The school was founded following the death in 1887 of the Revd Dr John Hymers, Rector of Brandesburton, who left a substantial sum in his will for the founding of a school "for the training of intelligence in whatever social rank of life it may be found among the vast and varied population of the town and port of Hull". Construction of the buildings was completed in 1893, and the first pupils arrived in September of that year. The school, initially open only to boys, expanded to include girls incrementally from the 1970s, becoming fully co-educational in 1989.[2]
Presently, Hymers educates around 1000 pupils aged 3–18 across the Pre-School, Junior and Senior Schools, with about 100 members of the teaching staff. The two major intakes of pupils are at age 3, into Pre-School, age 4, into Reception, age 7, into Year 3, age 11, into Year 7 and age 16, into Sixth Form. Capacity allowing, the school does accept pupils into other year groups also.
Old Hymerians include several prominent sportspeople, diplomats, academics and politicians, including the physicist Dr Edward Milne MBE FRS, who worked on the problem of the expanding universe, alongside Albert Einstein.
History
Hymers College was founded when the mathematician John Hymers left some of his property to the mayor and corporation of Hull in his will of 24 August 1885. The property was to provide for the founding of a grammar school, "for the training of intelligence in whatever social rank of life it may be found among the vast and varied population of the Town."[3] Although an infelicity in the wording of the will rendered the bequest invalid, his brother and heir, Robert Hymers, voluntarily granted the sum of £50,000 to establish the school.[4]
Hymers opened in 1893, on the site of the old Botanic Gardens of Hull, as a school for boys.[2] The school quickly established itself, and the first headmaster, Charles Gore, was soon admitted into the HMC, with all subsequent headmasters also being members. Hymers was a fee-paying school for most of its history, and many scholarships and bursaries were given to pupils whose parents' could not afford the fees, in accordance with John Hymers' will for the training of intelligence, regardless of social rank. In 1946 Hymers became a "direct grant" school, with many pupils being paid for by the local authority, in a similar system to today's academies. However, this scheme ended in 1971, and the school governors chose to become a fully independent school, rather than joining into the new comprehensive system, and re-established the bursaries system after the Government-funded Assisted Places scheme ended in 1997.[2]
From 1972, girls (initially just two) were admitted to the sixth form, and in 1989 the decision was made to become fully co-educational. With the opening of the Humber bridge in 1981, the school's catchment area increased to cover the south bank of the River Humber, resulting in the school's numbers extending to their current figure of just under one thousand pupils in the 1990s.[2]
Primary education
The school includes Hymers Hessle Mount, which accepts pupils from Pre-School to Year 2, as well as a Junior School, which accepts pupils into Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. For entry from Year 3 upwards, all pupils must sit an entrance assessment. There is a system of academic tracking, so that pupils attending Hymers Hessle Mount do not need to take the entrance exam for entry to the Junior School. Usually, there are just over 200 pupils in all three years of the Junior School (228 in the 2008 ISI report).[5]
In 2003, construction of a new Junior School building was completed, to replace an older building that has since been demolished. The previous Associate School, Hessle Mount, officially became part of Hymers College in September 2022,[6] renaming to Hymers Hessle Mount.
All children are sorted into one of the following four houses: Brandesburton, Gore, Holderness, and Trinity.
Secondary education
There has been a steady development of buildings and facilities, including design and technology workshops, art studios, language resource rooms, and IT suites. In recent years additional land has been purchased, a theatre (opened by and named after Dame Judi Dench), a music centre, science laboratories, an all-weather sports pitch, and other sports facilities have been constructed. A swimming pool was added in 2005.
The school library was closed in 2001, with the majority of books being redistributed to decentralised resource rooms. This was upon the advice of government inspectors, who argued that the library in its previous form was underused.
A new "Learning Resource Centre" was opened in 2016, in response to an Independent Schools Inspectorate report from 2008, in which it was stated that "[Pupils] are limited in the amount of independent study and research they can undertake while in school... by the absence of a central library resource."[7]
Hymers College is the best performing school in the East Riding in terms of examination results and league-table position, consistently producing an A2 Level pass rate of 99% (updated 2014 figure).[citation needed] In 2018, The Sunday Times' Parent Power publication ranked Hymers College as the 94th best independent school in the country and as one of the top 10 schools in the north of England.[8]
The Masonic lodge Old Hymerian Lodge is linked to the school.[9]
Mainstream sports are rugby and cricket, hockey and netball. The school introduced boys' hockey in January 2015. Other sports available include fencing, rounders, tennis, badminton, football, and athletics. In September 2023, girls' football was added to the games curriculum.
In more recent years the school has produced teams in a wide range of sports, reaching national finals in athletics, girls' hockey, tennis, badminton, and fencing.
Music and drama
The Judi Dench Theatre was opened in 1993 and a new Music Centre was opened by John Rutter in September 2014. The new facility contains nine individual music rooms, two classrooms, a recording studio and the Rutter Rehearsal Room.
Drama is taught to pupils in Years 7 and 8 with some pupils choosing to study it at GCSE and at A Level.
Army Cadet Force
Unlike most independent schools who have a Combined Cadet Force unit, Hymers has its own Army Cadet Force detachment currently containing around 10 cadets ranging from recruits to senior NCOs.
Camp flag of Royal Logistic CorpsFlag of the Army Cadet Force
This detachment is the only one in the country to have 12 above-standard certificates for its annual inspections. The land on which the detachment is built is on a 99-year lease to the Ministry of Defence and receives no funding from the College.
School associations
The school is supported by a non-profit association, primarily run by parents and Old Hymerians, which host events and provide some funding for new facilities.
Hymers College Association (HCA)
The HCA is a forty-year-old organization, whose primary purpose is to raise funds for the support, expansion and development of the school.[10] It runs a number of annual fundraising events, including a summer Garden Party, a May Ball, second hand uniform sales, and Junior School discos and plays. In September 2016 two other organisations, Friends of Hymers Music (FOHMS) and Supporters of Hymers College Sport (SOHCS), merged with the HCA to form one fundraising organisation.
Items given to the school as a result of HCA funding include the fleet of three minibuses, the ICT suite and outdoor play area in the Junior School, and the equipment in the Fitness Centre (located in the new Sports Centre, alongside the swimming pool).[10]
