Rye Hills Academy (formerly Rye Hills School) is a
coeducational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
located in
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England.
The school is on Redcar Lane (B1269) just east of
Redcar Racecourse
Redcar Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The racecourse was opened in 1872.
History
Racing began at Redcar on the sands at Redcar beach in the early 18th century. The final mee ...
at the junction with Warwick Road.
Redcar East railway station is nearby to the north-east.
Redcar & Cleveland College
Redcar and Cleveland College is a further education college, based in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The college offers apprenticeship training as well as A-level, vocational and higher education courses.
It is part of the Education Traini ...
had their Connections Campus a little further south along Redcar Lane.
History
Grammar school
Saltburn High School for Girls opened on ''Marske Road'' in
Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar.
It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Ridi ...
. Cleveland Grammar School, its successor, was on ''Warwick Road'', which opened in September 1953 for 500 girls, run by the Teesside Education Committee, based in Middlesbrough. By the early 1960s there were 600 girls, and 900 by 1969. It was sometimes known as Cleveland Grammar School for Girls. The male equivalent was
Sir William Turner's Grammar School.
Comprehensive
The school originally opened in 1975 as a merger of two neighbouring schools, Redcar Lane Secondary Modern (always called "Warwick Road") and Cleveland Grammar School, a girls' school. The new first year pupils of 1975/6 were the first intake under the comprehensive system. The school lost its sixth form.
The first headmistress was Patricia Rutherford, the first deputy head was Geoff Curtis. The current
headmistress
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...
is Caroline Waugh.
In March 1995, a 14-year-old boy died after having a heart defect and collapsing during a PE session.
The school was demolished and rebuilt on the same site in 2001. The £7.7 million new building was opened by
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
in November 2001.
In April 2001, it was announced that along with 114 other schools, Rye Hills was accepted onto the government's
trust school
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 (c 40) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. According to the government the Act "''is intended to represent a major step forward in the Government’s aim of ensuring that all children in all ...
programme and they will work towards that status.
Academy
Previously a
foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools.
Foundation schools were set up under the School Standards and Framework A ...
administered by
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the local authority of Redcar and Cleveland. It is a unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional fun ...
, in March 2017 Rye Hills School converted to
academy status and was renamed Rye Hills Academy. The school is now sponsored by the Nunthorpe Multi Academy Trust.
Notable former staff and pupils
Danny Nightingale
Robert Daniel "Danny" Nightingale (born 21 May 1954) is a British modern pentathlete and Olympic champion.
He won a team gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) i ...
, an Olympic gold medal winner, was a PE teacher.
Danny Hart, a
UCI DH MTB world cup winner and world champion attended the school.
References
External links
Rye Hills AcademyEduBase
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1975
Secondary schools in Redcar and Cleveland
1975 establishments in England
Academies in Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar