| Closed | 15th July 2009 |
|---|---|
| Headteacher | Anna White (?–2004) Stuart Todd (2005–2009) |
| Location | Nursery Lane Ovenden Halifax West Yorkshire HX3 5SX England |
| Local authority | Calderdale |
| Ages | 11–18 (16 After the sixth form center closed in 2007) |
| Houses | Blue, Yellow, Red, Green |
| Colours | House coloured shirt, navy jumper (up to 2005) White shirt, navy blue jumper (up to 2009) |
The Ridings was a secondary school for ages 11–18 in Ovenden, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, overseen by the Calderdale local authority. It was created in 1995 when two local secondary modern schools merged. The school is relatively small for its type; as of 2007 it had 537 students, of whom 28 were in the sixth form.[1] Before it became the Ridings school, it was known as The Ovenden High School (which closed on 31 December 1994).
The headteacher, Anna White was rewarded with a CBE in 1999 for improving the school. After it had been labelled "Britain's worst school". Anna then left the role of Headteacher in 2004 which then passed onto Stuart Todd who also had a reputation for improving schools. along with a new management team, he then led the school to record grades later.
In 1996 the school received nationwide attention [2] when staff said 60 of its pupils were "unteachable" and school operations were temporarily suspended while the headmaster and other leading staff were replaced. The school subsequently enjoyed greatly improved GCSE examination results,[3] however its 2005 Ofsted report regarded it as "inadequate" (one grade above "failing") overall, although "well placed to move forward".[4]
In the subsequent Ofsted inspection in 2008 however, after being placed in special measures, the school was rated "good".
On 29 October 2007, Calderdale Council announced that the school would be closed down.[5]
The school closed on 15 July 2009 and the building may be demolished.[6]
Headmaster of the school up to the time of closing down was Stuart Todd, along with the deputies Stuart Edghill and Victoria Callaghan.
In the 2008 GCSE results, the school received record grades and record number of students who received 5 or more GCSE's at grade C or above. In the final year of the Ridings, this was bettered again and the Final prom was held. The final prom for the Ridings School was held at Berties Elland.
As of today, the school still stands, yet the top section where the staff room and reception has been converted into a doctors. The rest of the school is unused and undecided by the council except for the sports center which is used for sporting clubs and gym membership.