Heckmondwike Grammar School (HGS) is an 11–18 mixed,

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 ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

with academy status in

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen pa ...

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.

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, with

Ingrid Roscoe Dame Ingrid Mary Roscoe, (27 May 1944 – 28 June 2020) was a writer on English art and Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire from 2004 to 2018. Biography Ingrid Roscoe was born at Rugby School, Warwickshire in 1944 to Arthur Allen and Else, who h ...

and the mayor of

Kirklees Kirklees is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Kirklees Council with the status of a metropolitan borough. The largest town and administrative centre of Kirklees is Huddersfield, and the district also includes ...

. In December 2018, the headteacher, Nathan Bulley, quit following allegations of mismanagement.

Admissions

HGS is a

Technology College In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were ...

. The school has approximately 1,500 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and includes a sixth form. Prospective pupils pass examinations in

verbal reasoning Verbal reasoning is understanding and reasoning using concepts framed in words. It aims at evaluating ability to think constructively, rather than at simple fluency or vocabulary recognition. Verbal reasoning tests Verbal reasoning tests of inte ...

, non-verbal reasoning, English and mathematics before entry to the school. After testing, 180–210 pupils are accepted. HGS annexe, formerly a church hall, which was previously used for

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

and

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

was reopened in 2019 as the Jo Cox Sixth Form Centre, in memory of the late MP and former head girl of the School.

Curriculum and performance

Heckmondwike Grammar School follows the England, Wales and Northern Ireland

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or other ...

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

Headmasters

* 1897–1924 — R S Cahill * 1924–1948 — Harold Edwards * 1948–1952 — E G Bennett * 1952–1956 — E J S Kyte * 1956–1970 — Kenneth Ford, Quaker and Second World War conscientious objector who joined the

Friends' Ambulance Unit The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914–1919, 1939–1946 and 19 ...

* 1970–1989 — T C Riddles * 1989–1990 — J K Wilson (acting head) * 1990–2010 — Mark Crellin Tweedle * 2010–2016 — Mike Cook * 2016–2018 — Nathan Bulley * 2019–present — Peter Roberts

Notable alumni

* John Bentley – retired English rugby union and rugby league footballer *

Tracy Brabin Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician who has served as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 20 ...

–

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

television writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

, Labour Party MP for Batley and Spen 2016–2021, West Yorkshire mayor (2021–present) * Luke Burgess – former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer; older brother of Sam *

Sam Burgess Samuel Burgess (born 14 December 1988) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or forward in the 2000s and 2010s. He played in England for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League and in Australia for the Sout ...

–

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

coach and former

player * Roger Burnley (born 1966) – businessman, former CEO of

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...

* Jo Cox, late Labour MP for Batley and Spen 2015–2016 * John Fozard – late engineer, chief designer of the

Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff an ...

from 1965 to 1978 *

Emily Freeman Emily Kaye Freeman (born 24 November 1980) is a retired British athlete from West Yorkshire, England, personal trainer and co-founder of training and mindset company Totally Runable. Freeman competed both nationally and internationally between 20 ...

– retired runner,

2008 Olympic The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

relay team member, 2009 European Team Championships team member *

Andrew Gale Andrew William Gale (born 28 November 1983) is an English cricket coach and former first-class cricketer, who was first XI coach of Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 2016 to 2021. He also co-owns Pro Coach Cricket Academy, with his business par ...

– professional

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, former

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...

captain (2016–2021) * Sir Basil Houldsworth, 2nd Baronet – late

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician and

anaesthetist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine ...

Sir Hubert Houldsworth, 1st Baronet Sir Hubert Stanley Houldsworth, 1st Baronet, QC (20 April 1889 – 1 February 1956) was a barrister, Chairman of the National Coal Board and a British Liberal Party politician. Background Houldsworth was the son of Albert Edward Houldsworth and ...

– late barrister,

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

chairman, and Liberal politician *

Kim Leadbeater Kim Michele Leadbeater (; born 1 May 1976) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen since 2021. Early life and education Leadbeater was born in 1976 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Engl ...

– Labour politician and Batley and Spen MP (2021–present); younger sister of Jo Cox * Michael McGowan – journalist, former Labour MEP for

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 popula ...

Frederick Campion Steward Frederick Campion "Camp" Steward FRS (16 June 1904 – 13 September 1993) was a British botanist and plant physiologist. Early life and education He was born in Pimlico, London, but brought up in Yorkshire. He was educated at Heckmondwike Gr ...

– late botanist and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

professor *

Joe Seddon Joseph Henry Seddon (born 4 June 1997) is a British technology Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur and social commentator. He is the founder of Zero Gravity, a technology company that supports low-income students into University, universities and car ...

– entrepreneur, founder of Zero Gravity

References

{{authority control Grammar schools in Kirklees Academies in Kirklees Training schools in England Educational institutions established in 1898 1898 establishments in England Heckmondwike