July 11, 2013

BGT deTour: Sayre School

The Blue Grass Trust’s deTours is a group of young professionals (and the young at heart). The program provides behind-the-scenes tours of historic buildings, places, and sites in central Kentucky. BGT deTours are free and open to the public. They occur on the first Wednesday of every month.

Sayre School, in downtown Lexington, has a lush green campus. At its center is “Old Sayre,” a five story Italianate building topped by the school’s trademark cupola. It was in this building that David Austin Sayre founded the Sayre Female Institute, an all girls boarding school in 1854. Sayre, then and now, offers “an education of the widest range and highest order.” The school became a co-educational institution in 1876, but was not renamed until the 1940s. It is no longer a boarding school, but it does boast of programs for students beginning at the age of two and ending with high school.

Today, Old Sayre is ringed by a cluster of modern educational facilities. The school offers state of the art architecture, technology and teaching methodology while remaining firmly rooted in Lexington’s history and the downtown community. Students leave campus during the day for field trips, nature walks, and to patronize nearby businesses (especially Third Street Stuff, the coffee shop and boutique across the street).

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Sayre School Quick Facts

Actress Ashley Judd attended Sayre
David Sayre purchased the school property and original two-story brick building for $15,900.
Sayre was the first independent school in Kentucky to have a one:one laptop to student ratio.
Sayre’s mascot is the Spartan. The school’s colors are blue and gold.
The preschool program offers Montessori and traditional methods.
The school’s sports teams have a “no cut” policy. Any student can play on an athletic team regardless of ability.
The average class size is 14 students.
The original two-story Greek Revival building on the campus was designed by local architect, Thomas Lewinski.