St Mary’s School in Blackpool had a history far older than pupils were led to believe. Though little was ever formally recorded or taught, it began life in 1866 as a girls’ school run by the Presentation Sisters at Raikes Hall. Their pupils, dressed in full Victorian attire, studied religion and the liberal arts before moving to Layton Hill Convent by 1890. By 1880 the school accepted boys, and around 1900 numbers had grown so large that it was divided into two “houses.” The girls and youngest boys remained at Layton Hill, while the boys’ house moved to Park Road…