Greenhead College
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Greenhead College is a
sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
, and former
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
, located in
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 into ...
, in the county of
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. The current principal is Simon Lett. With over 2,700 students, it is a large sixth form college, attracting students from as far afield as
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
,
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
,
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, Halifax,
Wetherby Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
and even
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is located next to Greenhead Park which is one of the largest parks in Huddersfield.


Reputation

The college topped both ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' and ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
s
A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
college league tables in 2006. It came fourth in 2007 and sixth in 2008. It was also the ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'''s Sixth Form College of the Year, 2014-15. 2019 will see 45 students heading to Oxford or Cambridge University


Subject choices

Students usually study 3 subjects at A level. The college is quite flexible with respect to courses being studied, with a proportion of students studying 4 A Levels as long as they meet the required criteria (an average of an A grade at GCSE). There are over 30 different subjects for students to study.


Admissions

Students from partnership feeder schools are given priority for places at the college, and are required to obtain a minimum of GCSE grades 4 in Maths and English language in addition to three GCSE grade 6s to gain a place at the college. Students usually need to get a B grade in the subjects they are wanting to take. Current partner schools are All Saints Catholic High School, Newsome High School,
Almondbury High School and Language College Hill View Academy (formerly Almondbury Community School) is a 3–11 mixed primary school with academy status in Almondbury, West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Impact Education Multi Academy Trust. History In April 2014, the Kirklee ...
,
Colne Valley High School Colne Valley High School is a mixed secondary school in the village of Linthwaite, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is named thus because it exists in the Colne Valley, one of several valleys that converge at the town of Huddersfield. ...
, North Huddersfield Trust School,
Holmfirth High School Holmfirth High School is a coeducational secondary school located on Heys Road in Thongsbridge, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England. Holmfirth High School opened in 1959 and currently has over 1,300 pupils, split over five-year groups from ye ...
,
Honley High School Honley High School is a coeducational secondary school situated on the edge of the village of Honley in the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England. The catchment area includes the neighbouring villages of Brockholes, Honley, Meltham and Netherto ...
, King James's School,
Moor End Technology College Moor End Academy is a converter academy school located in Crosland Moor, Huddersfield in England. It educates students in ages 11–16. The school is operated by South Pennine Academies. The school is rated as 'Outstanding' by Ofsted. History ...
,
Netherhall Learning Campus Netherhall Learning Campus is a federation of 4 schools which share the same campus in Rawthorpe, Huddersfield, England. The federation was formed in 2008, and includes Netherhall St. James Infant & Nursery School (formerly Rawthorpe St James C ...
,
Royds Hall Academy Royds Hall Academy is a mixed secondary school for pupils aged 11 – 16. It is located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, and on the north side of the Colne Valley towards Milnsbridge. History Royds Hall was a large farmhouse in the P ...
and Salendine Nook High School. Students from other schools are considered based on their mock GCSE results, a one-to-one interview and the availability of subject places, this after partner school students have been taken into consideration. Students from the
Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the u ...
secondary schools, including
The Brooksbank School The Brooksbank School is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status in Elland, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax in West Yorkshire, England. It is a Sports College, sports college, as well as the second largest schoo ...
,
The Crossley Heath School The Crossley Heath School is an 11–18 mixed, grammar school and sixth form with academy status in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1985 following the amalgamation of Heath Grammar School and Crossley and Porter Scho ...
and
North Halifax Grammar School The North Halifax Grammar School (NHGS) is a state grammar school, and former specialist Science college (with academy status) in Illingworth, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. 11+ The school has approximately one thousand students, aged 11 ...
, can be accepted through the application process. In 2005, then-principal Martin Rostron said he believed the college has been criticised for selecting only the best students, which he denied, saying that Greenhead took those of all abilities.


Campus

The Greenhead College campus is located on one site, near the centre of Huddersfield, directly next to Greenhead park. The campus is fairly small in comparison with the number of students enrolled - however, it manages to effectively provide provision for a multitude of subjects taught. The college has approximately 8 main buildings, all of which are internally linked. Each building represents a subject or a group of similar subjects. On 26 May 2004, the college officially opened a new building on the campus, the Conway Building. The building was dedicated to the former principal, Dr Kevin Conway. The college has a small football field on site and a small hockey field. Two tennis courts were replaced in early 2012 to make way for a new maths and science building, opened by the Duke of Kent. Many enrichments (extra curricular activities) offered by the college are done off campus due to the lack of outdoor space owing to the proximity to
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 into ...
town centre. The infamous statue situated on the side of the Science Building, in the adjacent picture, has recently changed location to outside the newly constructed Rostron Building. College legend has it that on the eve of results day 2015 the metal woman, also known as The Silent Student, moved on her own free will. Her rusty feet remain on the side of the Science Building; she has since regenerated new feet. By 2025 she is expected to move once again.


Redevelopment

In 2008 Ryder Architecture were commissioned to draw up plan for a new project with would provide a series of new buildings which were linked to the existing buildings via a central atrium hub. These buildings provided educational classrooms as well as various support and ancillary accommodation. The existing site was constrained with several existing buildings which would have caused a complex phased construction process. It was estimated that the project would cost approximately £15 million. In December 2008 a report examining the feasibility of the project was approved by the College. An application was submitted to the
Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ...
in July 2009 with construction works commencing January 2010 for a duration of 2 years. Unfortunately LSC funding was not received and the project was placed on hold until alternative funding could be sourced.


Staff

There are currently around 100 teaching staff to cater for the large number of students, in addition to the canteen staff, IT technicians, lab technicians and caretakers who also serve in the college.


Hierarchy

The College Principal is Simon Lett, who is supported by deputy principal Mo Bunter. Heads of department and heads of subject take a lead on teaching and learning within their subject area, supported by subject teachers and assistants.


Extracurricular activities

Greenhead is well praised for its enrichment programmes which encourages pupils to partake in extracurricular activities designed to build students character, their personal, sporting and social interests and prepares them more effectively both for higher education and future employment. It was first introduced in 1990. Its most recent praise was from Ofsted in 2011 from their spot check report. Enrichment is mandatory for student to undertake, this encourages pupils to partake supporting the programs success. There are a huge variety of courses for students to choose form including
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...
, sports, music and drama, information technology, voluntary services and The World Challenge; additionally students are free to start new courses on the proviso they can gain enough support for them. In 2011 a total of 79 different courses were available to students including 22 different sporting activates such as badminton, basketball, cycling, football (men and women’s), rugby (men and women’s), judo and squash and 9 different music groups. Alongside a variety of enrichment activities offered as part of the college programme, the music department offers annual opportunities for students across Kirklees to perform and compose. In 2018, the Greenhead College 'Carol for Yorkshire' raised over £700 for charity, and 2021 is the inaugural year of the Greenhead New Music Competition. Taster sessions are provided so that students can make informed decisions. As part of the enrichment program, pupils must undertake one week of PaWS (Projects and Work Shadowing) in their first year. Work shadowing placements include medical, political, scientific and language based jobs, usually at a senior level within the respective companies. If a pupil does not wish to do work shadowing, many projects, from circus skills to mathematical art, are available.


Awards

*
Queen's Anniversary Prize The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are a biennially awarded series of prizes awarded to universities and colleges in the further and higher education sectors within the United Kingdom. Uniquely it forms part of the Bri ...
in 1996 *
The Educational Institution of the Year Award ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
in 1999 * The Beacon College Award in May 1999, and again in September 2004 * The
Queen's Anniversary Prize The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are a biennially awarded series of prizes awarded to universities and colleges in the further and higher education sectors within the United Kingdom. Uniquely it forms part of the Bri ...
for Excellence in 2000 (for the second time) * Officially announced as "outstanding" in the May 2004
Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
report and again in the 2008 report. * ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'''s Parent Power Top State Sixth Form College of the Year 2014. *Music Mark Award


Notable alumni

* Lisa Head, first female bomb disposal officer in the British Army to be killed in operations. *
Judy Hirst Judy Hirst is a British scientist specialising in mitochondrial biology. She is Director of the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the University of Cambridge. Education and early life Hirst grew up in Lepton, a village near Huddersfield, West ...
, FRS FRSC is a British scientist specialising in
mitochondrial A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is use ...
biology. Prof Hirst is Interim Director of the
MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit The MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit (formerly the MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit) is a department of the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge, funded through a strategic partnership between the Medical Research Council and th ...
at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
* Jill Kemp, professional classical recorder player. * Jonathan Le Billon, actor best known for playing Brian Drake in Hollyoaks. * Janine Mellor, actress best known for playing Kelsey Phillips in BBC One's Casualty. *
Kearnan Myall Kearnan Myall (born 15 December 1986, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire) is a rugby union footballer for Wasps RFC. He previously played for Sale Sharks and Leeds Carnegie. Early life Born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and raised in the Holmfi ...
, rugby union footballer for London Wasps. * Matt Roberts, television presenter, best known for his work on BBC Sport's Moto GP coverage. *
Mona Siddiqui Mona Siddiqui (born 3 May 1963) is a British academic. She is Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. ...
OBE FRSE FRSA, British Muslim academic. *
Steven Woodcock Steven Woodcock (born 23 February 1964) is an English actor, best known for his role as Clyde Tavernier in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''; a role that he played from July 1990 to July 1993. Other television credits include ''Grange Hill'' ( ...
, award-winning film director, writer, and producer. *
Neil O'Brien Neil John O'Brien (born 6 November 1978) is a British politician who was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health in September 2022. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Harborough in 2017. ...
OBE, Conservative MP.


References


External links

* {{authority control Schools in Huddersfield Educational institutions established in 1980 Learning and Skills Beacons Sixth form colleges in West Yorkshire Education in Kirklees 1980 establishments in England Huddersfield