Greenhead High School for Girls was founded in 1909. The last O-levels were taken in June 1977. The girls grammar school incrementally became an sixth form college, from September 1973.
Graham Cooksey moved from Thomas Rotherham College to be headmaster from January 1973.[3]
Sixth form college
It was a full sixth form college from September 1977.
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.[8]
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.[9]
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 secondary schools, including The Brooksbank School, The Crossley Heath School and North Halifax Grammar School, 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.[9][11]
Campus
The wall art of the science block at Greenhead College
The Greenhead College campus is on one site, near the centre of Huddersfield, directly next to Greenhead park.
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.[12]
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[13] (extra curricular activities) offered by the college are done off campus due to the lack of outdoor space owing to the proximity to Huddersfield town centre.[citation needed]
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 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.[14]
At the start of November 2023 the college will open its new 'Hirst' building, named after former alumni and now biological scientist Judy Hirst. The Hirst building is a £25 million project funded by the Department for Education and built in collaboration between construction companies Galliford Try and Mace. Having been under construction for two years up until its opening, the college expects the building to be fully completed by February 2025, but its students will start benefiting from the new build from November 2023 onwards.
The Hirst building will provide a new location for the teaching of chemistry, biology, psychology and government and politics, relocating from the old Langsplain building, which will be demolished as a result of the decant. There are also large study and social areas with new catering facilities. The building is also carbon-neutral and features a bio roof and solar panels to generate electricity for the building.
[15]
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.[citation needed]
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.[16]
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, 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.[17] 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,[18] and 2021 is the inaugural year of the Greenhead New Music Competition.[19] Taster sessions are provided so that students can make informed decisions.[20]
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.
