Heckmondwike Grammar School

Heckmondwike Grammar School (HGS) is a state selective, coeducational grammar school providing free education,^[3] located in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England.

History

The school was built by Thomas Redfearn and Samuel Wood, who lived on Eldon Street, and opened on 17 January 1898. Further north in Cleckheaton was Whitcliffe Mount Grammar School, now Whitcliffe Mount School.

HGS was a foundation school, but became an academy in September 2010.

On 18 January 2011 the Crellin Building was officially opened by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, with Ingrid Roscoe and the Mayor of Kirklees.

Admissions

HGS is a Technology College and, in addition, has recently acquired Language College specialism. The school has approximately 1,250 students aged between 11 and 18 and includes a sixth form.

Prospective pupils pass examinations in verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics before entry to the school. After testing only the top 150 pupils are accepted. Schools that can select top performers are known as super-selective schools.

HGS annexe, formerly a church hall, is used for physical education, and social sciences, and as a secure test area.

Houses and forms

Rear of the school

The school has four houses, and each pupil is allotted a house. Houses are named after notable people from the West Yorkshire area, and are Brontë (whose colour is blue), Clarke (yellow), Houldsworth (green) and Priestley (red). Activities take place between houses, with competitions such as a swimming gala, spelling bee, and house drama. A house music competition takes places once every academic year – entrants choose a solo, duet or group piece, with points awarded by a panel. The house that receives the most points in competitions wins the Lees Cup.

There are 5 forms of approximately 30 pupils in each year, one for each house and one form with a mix of pupils from all houses. Forms are denoted by B for Brontë; C for Clarke; P for Priestley; H for Houldsworth; and S as the mixed form. New pupils are admitted in year 10, and to accommodate them, one of the forms is split into 2 smaller forms, and the new pupils are split between these 2 new forms.

There are approximately 600 students in the sixth form, entering through the lower school or through neighbouring schools after completing GCSEs. Each prospective student is interviewed by a member of the senior management team.

Curriculum and performance

Heckmondwike Grammar School follows the England, Wales and Northern Ireland National Curriculum.

In 2010 and 2013/2014 the school was ranked the 5th best-performing school in England for GCSE results.^[4] and is regularly among the top 100 state schools in the country.^[5][6]

Pupils achieve some of the best A level results by a state school in England. Kirklees LEA has one of the highest averaged set of A-level results in England.

Headmasters

• 1924-48 — Lt-Col Harold Edwards DSO MC
• 1956-70 — Kenneth Ford, Quaker and Second World War conscientious objector who joined the Friends' Ambulance Unit
• 1990-2010 — Mark Crellin Tweedle
• 2010–present — Mike Cook

Notable former pupils

• John Bentley, professional rugby player
• Luke Burgess, older brother of Sam, also a rugby league player for South Sydney Rabbitohs
• Sam Burgess, professional rugby union player for Bath Rugby and the England Saxons
• Barry R. Clarke, international puzzle author
• Donald Fisher CBE, County Education Officer from 1974-90 of Hertfordshire, and Headmaster from 1964-7 of Helston Grammar School and Midhurst Grammar School from 1967–72
• Prof John Fozard, took over from Ralph Hooper as the Chief Designer from 1965-78 of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier
• Emily Freeman, 100m and 200m runner, in the British 2008 Olympic 4x100m relay team and the 100m runner in the 2009 European Team Championships
• Andrew Gale, professional cricket player and current Yorkshire County Cricket Club captain
• Prof Michael Hampshire CBE, Professor of Solid State Electronics from 1978-85 at the University of Salford
• Mike Heaton, Embrace drummer
• Sir Basil Houldsworth, 2nd Baronet (Hubert's son)
• Sir Hubert Stanley Houldsworth, 1st Baronet, Chairman of the National Coal Board from 1951 until his death in 1956
• Thomas Jessop OBE, Ferens Professor of Philosophy from 1928-61 at the University of Hull
• Michael McGowan (politician), Labour MEP from 1984-99 for Leeds
• Prof Ian Poll OBE, Professor of Aerospace Engineering since 1995 at Cranfield University, Professor of Aeronautical Engineering from 1987-95 at the University of Manchester, and President from 2001-2 of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS)
• Robert Reid, Editor from 1966-9 of BBC2's Horizon, where he established the programme's format, and later Head of Science and Features from 1969-73 at the BBC
• Frederick Campion Steward FRS, Charles A. Alexander Professor of Biological Sciences from 1965-72 at Cornell University
• Geoffrey Taylor, Group Chief Executive from 1982-6 of Midland Bank

References