History of Lytham C of E Primary School

Lytham Church of England Primary School has a rich history in the education of children in Lytham.  It was formed in 1975 through the amalgamation of St Cuthbert’s School/Lytham Endowed School and St John’s School.

Lytham Endowed School/St Cuthbert’s School

Lytham Endowed School 1853, enlarged 1927

The school originated from the 1720s, following various charitable trusts and bequests to educate the ‘poor’ children of Lytham. Early records suggest it stood on Church Road near Beach Street.  In 1793 this building became unsuitable for its continuing use as a school so a new school was built on what is now the Lytham Hall Park estate. The park-site school was eventually removed for being too close to Lytham Hall. Consequently, a new school building was constructed on Church Road in 1853 to accommodate 250 students with a master’s house.  In 1927, this building was enlarged to accommodate more students.  The old school closed and was demolished in 1975. A new facility was built on Park View Road, merging with St John's School to become Lytham Church of England Primary School. 

The St Cuthbert’s Court flat complex now occupies the site of the school.  The master’s house was next to the school and is now no. 24, Church Road. 
 

St John’s School

St John’s School 1987

St John’s School was built in 1851 on South Warton Street to serve the local parish, funded by local contributions and educational grants.

It originally featured three rooms including an infant’s section, a mixed department and a small room of only 10 feet high.  All this amounted to an area of approximately 8 feet per scholar.

The founding inscription was on a stone tablet which originally stood above the school door and moved to the back when it was extended had the following inscription-

‘These schools were erected by contributions from the inhabitants of Lytham and other friends aided by grants from the Committee of Council on Education and the National Society.’

In order to accommodate growing needs, the school was enlarged in 1899 with the introduction of a new infant school building in 1913.

Consideration had to be given to the building of a new premises.  Hence, in 1975, a new school was built on Park View Road, Lytham Church of England Primary School.  Initially, only part of St John’s school moved to the new school.  However, in 1985, upper junior classes from the former St. John's site fully joined the rest of the student body at the Park View Road location, unifying Lytham Church of England Primary School.

The old buildings of St John’s School were demolished in 1987 and the former site is now occupied by sheltered accommodation-St John’s Court.

Today

Lytham CofE Primary School was formed in 1975 following the amalgamation of St Cuthbert’s School and St John’s School.  A nursery was officially opened in September 2021 to form Lytham CofE Primary School and Nursery.  Starting from September 2026, the school extended its governor-led nursery places to admit eligible 2-year-olds alongside existing classes. 
 

Lytham CofE Primary School and Nursery, Park View Road

Lytham CofE Primary School and Nursery, main entrance

The stone tablet containing the founding inscription of St John’s school 1853, now in the gardens of Lytham CofE Primary School and Nursery.

Further information about the history of the Lytham Endowed School and St John’s School can be found at-

https://lythamheritage.uk/history/Lytham/Lytham_Endowed_school 

https://lythamheritage.uk/index.php/history/Lytham/St_Johns_school 

In addition, Lytham Heritage Group Archive Centre housed on the first floor of Lytham Institute contains many original documents from the historic schools- https://lythamheritage.uk/Archives 
 

We would like to extend our sincere thanks Harriet Brown for conducting this research and collating the findings.