Colne Valley High School is a mixed

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in the village of

Linthwaite Linthwaite (known as ''Linfit'' in the local community) is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated west of Huddersfield, on the A62 in the Colne Valley. The village ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. It is named thus because it exists in the Colne Valley, one of several valleys that converge at the town of

. It has approximately 1900 pupils, with forms from A to J. The school has years 7 to 11, and four main buildings: A block, B block, C block and D (music) block as well as the sports hall. The school converted to academy status in September 2014 and is sponsored by

The Mirfield Free Grammar The Mirfield Free Grammar (also known as the MFG) and sixth form is a secondary school in the town of Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England. Patrick Stewart was a student at the MFG and, in September 2011, he opened the school as an academy. The s ...

History

Founded in January 1956, Colne valley high school was the first, purpose built comprehensive in the north of England at a cost of £350,000. Built on a 38-acre, greenfield site overlooking Linthwaite and the Colne Valley, the initial intake of 860 would, at its peak, encompass almost 1900 pupils, including a sixth form. The school initially consisted of a four-storey ‘A’ Block, and library and workshop corridors (for woodwork and metalwork), with both leading to the 2 storey ‘B’ block containing the arts rooms and science labs. A farm, a self contained flat (for domestic science) and large and small gymnasiums were also included, with the music blocks and the large theatre added in the second phase. The raising of the school leaving age in 1972 led to the creation of a ‘C’ Block to cater for the overflow. The school's first headteacher, 36 year old Ernest Butcher, was handed the task of steering this relatively new system through choppy educational waters, to be followed by Tom Rolf (1966) Allan Newton (1977), Linda Wright (1997), Denise Tonkins (2005), Maggie Dunn (2013), Christian Wilcocks, (2014) James Christian (2017).

Notable alumnus

The English poet, playwright and novelist, and

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

Simon Armitage Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds. He has published over 20 collections of poet ...

was a pupil here from 1974 to 1981.

Sporting achievements

* 1968 - CVHS wins Yorkshire Cross-Country Championship

References

External links

Colne Valley High School official website
{{authority control Schools in Huddersfield Secondary schools in Kirklees Academies in Kirklees