About

Based around our own museum visitors will be able to hear about our fascinating history which started from the creation of the first Higher Grade (secondary) School in the country. Find out about some of our past students and their contributions.

The museum captures both the everyday household products and the lives of people associated with this school over 150 years. Find out about the young men from Hanson who gave their lives in two world wars alongside thousands of commonwealth soldiers and how those stories were uncovered. Discover the 23 teachers who were active suffragettes fighting for the right to vote. Based on the handwritten records of one of those suffragettes, Martha Lister, find out about the amazing lives of some of those students they taught. Learn about how Bradford was at the very centre of educational innovation in the latter part of the 19th century, and about James Hanson’s pioneering achievements on the Bradford School Board including how he inaugurated the first municipal secondary school in the country which was later designated Hanson Memorial School. As well as the displays and presentations there will be the opportunity to take part in practical workshops. For example, you could stamp a slogan onto a coin or make a button badge exactly how those suffragettes would have done. You could make a plastic poppy to celebrate the remembrance of those who have given their lives for this country or take part in other practical activities. This day is suitable for whole families from all ethnicities as well as serious local historians. Maybe you can add to the archives of this growing museum by sharing stories or artefacts about past students and events