Sayre School

David A. Sayre, a New Jersey silversmith, migrated to Lexington where he eventually became a successful banker. He and his wife Abby founded the school as an all-female boarding school in November 1854 when he met with a group of businessmen in the offices of former Kentucky Secretary of State George B. Kinkead. Along with several other prominent members of the "McChord" (now First) Presbyterian Church, including John C. Breckinridge, the group drew up the school's articles of incorporation.{{cite book|last1=Coleman|first1=J. Winston|title=A Centennial History of Sayre School, 1854-1954|date=1954|publisher=Winburn Press|location=Lexington|url=http://www.kyhistory.com/cdm/ref/collection/RB/id/3829|accessdate=13 December 2016}}

In the fall of 1855, the school was moved to its current location on Limestone Street.{{cite web|title=Sayre Female Institute|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset?assetID=439fa410-c6c5-4d4b-8fca-b2edf46a7ee7|website=National Register of Historic Places Inventory|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service|access-date=13 December 2016|date=10 February 1982}}

The school remained an all-female boarding school until 1876, when boys were admitted as day scholars in the primary grades under the leadership of Major Henry B. McClelland,Louisville Courier Journal. April 24, 1904, p. 4 who was the school's principal from 1870 to 1904. In 1914, the nearby preparatory school of Miss Ella M. Williams merged with Sayre, and the name was changed to Sayre College and Conservatory of Music. During the Great Depression, the school struggled, but in 1942 it grew with the incorporation of the Hamilton Grammar School, and changed its name to Sayre School, dropping its collegiate degree program. The pillars outside the main entrance of the campus still show "Sayre College." In 1947 the high school grades were discontinued, and the boarding rooms were leased to the University of Kentucky. In 1961 an English teacher from Lafayette High School, Donn D. Hollingsworth, was appointed headmaster and the high school was reinstated, in addition to the grammar school, beginning the "New Era."

In March–April 2017, Sayre begun the demolition and reconstruction of the lower (elementary) school, only finishing in summer of 2018.

{{cite web|last1=Grunwald|first1=Thomas|title=Founder's Day Tidbits|url=http://www.sayreschool.org/uploaded/School_Life/Publications/SAYRE_SCHOOL_HISTORY_TIDBITS.pdf|website=Sayre School|accessdate=13 December 2016}}

The Sayre School consists of three academic divisions, covering ages 2 through grade 12. The Lower School consists of a preschool program for ages 2–5,{{cite web|url=http://www.sayreschool.org/page.cfm?p=4776|title= Preschool| publisher= sayreschool.org| accessdate=2015-10-22}} as well as Kindergarten through Grade 4. The Middle School covers grades 5–8, and the Upper School incorporates grades 9–12, like a traditional high school. The Upper School offers 17 Advanced Placement courses, and 85% of seniors who took an AP class earned a score of 3 or higher, with 60% being designated as AP Scholars; two were National AP Scholars.{{cite web|url=http://www.sayreschool.org/page.cfm?p=4412|title=Fast Facts|publisher=sayreschool.org| accessdate= 2016-09-26}}

Since Sayre is no longer a boarding school, most of its students reside in Lexington, Kentucky or its nearby counties, such as Scott, Bourbon, Jessamine, Madison, and Woodford counties. Students come from 13 Central Kentucky counties, including Fleming, and Estill counties, that are more than an hour commute away.

There are also some students that reside in the county of Wolfe, which is also about an hour commute away.

{{cite web|url=http://www.sayreschool.org/page.cfm?p=4412|title=Sayre: Fast Facts| publisher= sayreschool.org| accessdate=2015-10-22}}

File:Ashley Judd - 2014.jpg attended Sayre.]]

Notable past Sayre students include Nobel Laureate William Lipscomb,Chapter: [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/bk-2002-0827.pr001 Process of Discovery (1977); An Autobiographical Sketch], William Lipscomb, 14 pp., Sayre is on page xv, in the book Structures and Mechanisms: From Ashes to Enzymes (Acs Symposium Series, vol. 827) Gareth R. Eaton (Editor), Don C. Wiley (Editor), Oleg Jardetzky (Editor), American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2002, {{ISBN|9780841237360}}, 404 pp., online at [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/bk-2002-0827.pr001 pubs.acs.org]. woman suffragist Laura Clay, settlement school founder Katherine Pettit,{{cite web| url =http://www.womeninkentucky.com/site/education/K_Pettit.html| title =Educators: Katherine Pettit| publisher =Women in Kentucky| accessdate =2008-03-24}} Josh Hopkins,{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=Thomas&qmi=E&qn=Hayden&qcs=Flower+Mound%2C+TX&focusfirst=1|title=Thomas Edward Hayden|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=February 3, 2014}} Byrd Spilman Dewey,{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} and actresses Ashley JuddSvokos, Heather (June 27, 2004). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/692968609/?clipping_id=175379109 "Judd Thrives in Rich, Talented Company"]. Lexington Herald-Leader. p. . Retrieved June 26, 2025. "Judd's singing parts aren't big showcase performances like that of Cole or Williams; they’re more intimate. 'Just sitting around a piano and dunking out a tune,' she said. [...] She fell in love with the jazz age while she was a student at Lexington's Sayre School." and Leah Lail.Fortune, Beverly (October 17, 1999). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/692062720/?clipping_id=175379968 "Wheel of Fortune: The latest on who's out and about"]. Lexington Herald-Leader. p. J3. Retrieved June 26, 2025. "Leah Lail made a glam appearance in a low-cut black velvet gown at last week's Philharmonic Guild Ball. Lail, a Lexington native, is in the cast of V.I.P. [...] She came with Paul O'Neill, a pal from sixth grade at Sayre School."

Sayre's sports teams are called the Spartans. Their school colors are blue and gold. Notably, the school has a "no-cut" policy for its sports teams, meaning that any student can participate on an athletic team, regardless of ability, if he or she wishes to do so.

Former NFL and Marshall University quarterback Chad Pennington was hired in 2018 to be coach of Sayre's new football team. In his first year of coaching, he led the team to a 3–5 record. In 2023, the team would go 10–0 during the regular season and making it to the quarter-finals in the 1A tournament.{{cite web |title=2023 Class 1A 2023 UK HealthCare Sports Medicine State Football Finals |url=https://khsaa.org/football/2023/brackets/2023_1A.pdf |website=khsaa.org |publisher=Kentucky High School Athletic Association |access-date=June 25, 2024}} This dominance would continue into the 2024 season, where the Spartans claimed their first Class 1A State Championship.{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Coby |last2=Hinkle |first2=Payden |title=Sayre wins first state championship in school history |url=https://fox56news.com/sports/high-school/sayre-football-wins-kentucky-high-school-state-championships/ |website=fox56news.com |publisher=FOX 56 WDKY |access-date=December 6, 2024 |date=December 6, 2024}}

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Category:1854 establishments in Kentucky

Category:Educational institutions established in 1854

Category:History of women in Kentucky

Category:Preparatory schools in Kentucky

Category:Private elementary schools in Kentucky

Category:Private high schools in Kentucky

Category:Private middle schools in Kentucky

Category:Schools in Lexington, Kentucky

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Kentucky

Category:School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky