NEWI can trace its origins back to 1887 when post-compulsory education was first established in Wrexham.
The school of Science and Art was established following the Aberdare Report on Intermediate and Higher Education in Wales 1881 and the Samuelson Report on Technical Instruction 1882-4.
The school was funded by ‘Whisky Money’, a tax on beer and spirits, thereby utilising another of Wrexham's major industries: Wrexham Lager.
Many of the courses at that time reflected the industrial nature of Victorian Wrexham, in particular the mining industry (for example machine construction, mining and chemistry). Surprisingly, however, art was by far the most popular subject.
