Greenhead College

Greenhead College
Address
Greenhead Road Huddersfield , West Yorkshire , HD1 4ES England
Information
Type	Sixth form
Established	1980
Local authority	Kirklees
Department for Education URN	130538 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Martin Rostron
Vice Principals	Anton McGrath Sue Creamer
Staff	100 (approx.)
Gender	Coeducational
Age	16 to 19
Enrollment	1800
Website	http://www.greenhead.ac.uk

Greenhead College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Huddersfield, in the English county of West Yorkshire. The current principal is Martin Rostron.

With around 1800 pupils, it is a relatively large college, attracting pupils from as far afield as Wakefield, Manchester, Barnsley, Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Oldham and even Wetherby.

Reputation

The college topped The Guardian and The Independent A level college league tables in 2006. It came fourth in 2007 and sixth in 2008.

Nineteen students who left the college in 2010 went to the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge.

Subject choices

Students usually study 4 AS level subjects of their choice during their first year of study, and then continue to study 3 of these subjects at A level. The college is quite flexible with respect to courses being studied, with a significant proportion of students studying 5 A Levels, and some up to 6. There are over 30 different subjects for students to study.

At AS and A level, students are required to take study General Studies. Both AS and A level General Studies is taught, and the exams sat during the second year of study. First-year students are also required to complete a mandatory 8-week OCR Text Processing course in their first few months at college.

Students who did not obtain sufficient GCSE grades to meet their offer, may still be admitted to the college, but have to re-sit the required GCSE during their first year, and obtain the required grade.

Admissions

Prospective students are informed that all applicants will be interviewed, and pre-interview selection criteria can be applied due to the high number of external applications received. There is a sense among some that the college should be more up-front regarding this issue.

Students from partner schools are given priority for places at the college, and are required to obtain a minimum of five GCSE C grades (including a grade C in English) to gain a place at the college. The current partner schools are All Saints Catholic High School, Almondbury High School and Language College, Colne Valley High School, North Huddersfield Trust School, Holmfirth High School, Honley High School, King James's School, Moor End Technology College, Newsome High School and Sports College, Netherhall Learning Campus, Royds Hall High School and Salendine Nook High School/Technology College.

Students from other schools are considered based on their mock GCSE results, a one to one interview and the availability of subject places, after partner school students have been taken into consideration. Many students from the Calderdale secondary schools, such as The Brooksbank School, The Crossley Heath School and North Halifax Grammar School also succeed through the application process.

The college has been criticised for selecting only the brightest students. This has been denied by the principal Martin Rostron, on the basis that students of all abilities are taken from partner schools. Minimum criteria are given for partner school applicants (five GCSE C grades), but no indication of minimum criteria appears within the college's website or prospectus for non-partner school applicants.

Campus

The Greenhead College campus is located on one site, near the centre of Huddersfield. 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. 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 town centre.

File:Greenhead College Concept 1.jpg

An aerial view of the plans for Greenhead College

File:Greenhead College Concept 2.jpg

An artists impression of the inside of the auditorium

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.

Staff

There are currently around 100 teaching staff to cater for the large number of students. However this number is larger due to the canteen staff, IT technicians, lab technicians and caretakers that also serve in the college.

Hierarchy

The College Principal is Martin Rostron who is supported by vice principals, Anton McGrath and Sue Creamer. There are also three Assistant principals (Peter Gordziejko; Jeannine King and Christine Milson) as well as a Business Manager (John Blake) and a Human Resource Manager (Debra Todd). In addition there are subject heads and then finally the subject teachers and assistants. There is also a Senior Student system at the college, where the students vote the heads of their Student Union.

Extracurricular activities

Greenhead is well praised for its enrichment programmes which encourages pupils to partake in extracurricular activities designed to build students character personal, sporting and social interests and prepares them more effectively both for higher education and future employment. It was first introduced in 1990.

In November 2000 the college achieved its second Queen's Anniversary Prize bestowed for Curriculum development for sixth form students. When awarded the prize the award committee said: “The college’s enrichment programme is a national exemplar of what can be done at sixth-form level to extend students’ education and personal growth beyond their academic courses. The programme calls on students to develop self-reliance, promotes citizenship and prepares them to meet the world of work or further study with confidence and commitment.”

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 student are free to start new courses on the proviso they can gain enough support for it. In 2011 a total of 79 different courses were available to students including 22 different sporting activates such as badminton, basket ball, cycling, football (men and women’s), rugby (men and women’s), judo and squash and 9 different music groups. 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

• The Queen's Award in 1996.
• The Educational Institution of the Year Award in 1999
• The Beacon College Award in May 1999, and again in September 2004
• The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Excellence in 2000 (for the second time)
• Officially announced as "outstanding" in the May 2004 Ofsted report

Source: Greenhead College: Awards

Notable alumni

• Mona Siddiqui, British Muslim academic.
• Lisa Head, first female bomb disposal officer in the British Army to be killed in operations.

External links

• Greenhead College