When ‘Hull Trinity House Marine School’ opened on the 2nd of February 1787, it had only 36 pupils, the Master then being Reverend. T. O. Rogers (1787-1789), curate of the nearby Sculcoates Church. There was no curriculum, but there is no doubt that Arithmetic and Navigation were the principal subjects. Little is known about the first 36 boys to enter the school; however, we do know that only three of them did not complete the course. 

The Trinity House uniform, according to Mr Zebedee Scaping (Headmaster 1854-1909), originally consisted of ‘a dress coat of blue cloth with long tails, lined with white, a stand-up collar of white cloth and brass buttons, a blue waistcoat with brass buttons, and trousers of white duck or blue cloth’. Tall beaver hats were also worn, a practise which continued on Sundays until around 1854, when blue cloth caps of the Royal Naval pattern were substituted. Recent changes to the uniform have resulted in the following dress codes. The lower school uniform, (lower school being years 7 through to 9), consists of a Merchant Navy themed pullover, white dress shirt, trousers of black and a black beret. The upper school uniform, (upper school being years 10 and 11) is the naval ‘square rig’ uniform, white shirt, and a white cloth covered peak cap. 

A year after the opening of the school, the Board of Trinity House devised a ‘Founders’ Day’, or ‘Dinner Day’. A feature of the dinner is that after the meal, each student, with their backs turned, takes two oranges from a basket behind them. This old custom, said to have been introduced to prevent students deliberately picking the largest fruit and thereby instilling a sense of fairness, continues to this day. 

Today, Trinity House Academy’s staff and students of the 21st Century still honour the traditions established by our predecessors. Such traditions serve as a reminder of the importance of our history in defining the school we are today: one that is committed to a clear vision for excellence that provides a highly successful, modern educational setting with the highest expectations and aspirations for our students, and equipping them with the skills, knowledge and confidence that will help them flourish and succeed in their next steps in education or training and adulthood.