Description:Newcastle High School was built in 1876 and was formed by the previous amalgamation of Newcastle Grammar School and the Orme School. It was intended for those who were able to pay tuition fees of about £25 a year, with an additional £50 for boarders. The school was modelled on Rugby School, F.E. Kitchener, the first headmaster, having been an assistant master there.
The Orme School was founded in about 1705 by Reverend Edward Orme, who was dissatisfied with Newcastle Grammar School, where he was master. The Orme School was housed in a couple of buildings until it came in 1851 to the new buildings on the site of the old workhouse in the Higherland. In 1872 the school merged with the Grammar School to form the present and pictured Newcastle High School.