Heckmondwike Grammar School
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| Heckmondwike Grammar School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
High Street , , WF16 0AH | |
| Information | |
| Motto | Nil Sine Labore ('Nothing without Work') |
| Established | 1898 |
| Local authority | Kirklees |
| Head teacher | Mr M C Tweedle, F.R.S.A.[1] |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 1,250 (approx.) |
| Website | http://www.heckgrammar.kirklees.sch.uk |
Heckmondwike Grammar School (HGS) is a state selective, coeducational grammar school providing free education,[2] located in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England. It is a Technology College and, in addition, has recently acquired Language College specialism. The school has approximately 1,250 students aged between 11 and 18 and includes a sixth form. The headmaster of the school is Mr Mark Tweedle who will be retiring and the position of the Head will be taken over by Mr Cook (the current deputy head). The current Head Boy and Head Girl are Umar Patel and Philippa Gaunt respectively having succeeded Chris Beck and Sarah McGowan. The school's aims are "to achieve the best possible academic standards and to develop those qualities in our pupils which will make them responsible citizens of the future." The school was founded in 1898, and its colours are brown and gold. Prospective pupils have to pass examinations in verbal reasoning and mathematics before entry to the school is allowed.
The school has a strong academic record. It is currently ranked 5th Best School in England.[3] and is regularly among the top 100 state schools in the country.[4]
HGS also has an annexe, formerly a church hall, which is used for physical education, and social sciences as well as being a secure test area.
Houses
The school has four houses, and each student is put into a house. These houses are named after famous people from the West Yorkshire area. The houses are Brontë (whose colour is blue), Clarke (yellow), Houldsworth (green) and Priestley (red). There are several activities and competitions that take place between houses such as, the swimming gala, spelling bee, house drama and so on. The House that receives the most points wins the Lees Cup.
Forms
There are 5 forms of approximately 30 in every year, one for each house and one additional form with a mixture. They are B for Bronte, C for Clarke, P for Priestley, H for Houldsworth, and S, which is a mixture of all houses. The letter "S" was chosen after former teacher Mr Short, the first form tutor of the 'S' form. In years 10 and above, the 'S' form is usually split into two groups; S1 and S2 and a small selection of new students are placed into these forms.
GCSE Options
Mathematics, Statistics, English, English Literature, separate science, a language and ICT are compulsory.
Students taking each science as a separate subject, will study for three GCSEs, one each for Physics, Chemistry and Biology. They will have more lesson time to study Sciences, but as a result have less time for other subjects, and will be entered for an ICT Award (AiDA), which is one GCSE. However, pupils who show large improvement may be entered for CiDA. Recently, however, GCSE students have had taking all three separate sciences as compulsory, possibly for the beneficial factor in that they then have three, detailed knowledge, GCSE's.
All students are entered into one technology element. They may choose from:
All students take one or two Modern Foreign Languages. In year 9 they have a choice of:
Students may also choose to study Latin at a fee through distance learning, but this is only made available to those who have demonstrated exceptional linguistics skills.
Similarly, it is possible to study Italian and Urdu at GCSE following the completion of a GCSE course in French, German or Spanish
As part of the National Curriculum, PE is still taught to pupils through weekly Games lessons. These are compulsory and are part of the PSHCE (Personal Social Health and Citizenship Education) programme. Up to Year 8 pupils take both Games and PE and after students have only a weekly Games lesson. In Year 9 & 10 there are only games lesson and no P.E. lesson. The pupils also benefit from weekly PSHCE lessons, called Skills lessons. Study of Religious Education is also compulsory at a basic level, for those who do not wish to study to the full GCSE level in this subject.
Sixth Form
There are approximately 450 students in the sixth form, entering via the lower school or via neighbouring schools after GCSEs. Each prospective student is interviewed by a member of the senior management team before confirmation of a place or rejection is assured.
Notable alumni
Abigail Carlisle and Emily Heward, Gonzo journalists
- John Bentley, Professional Rugby Player
- Andrew Gale, professional cricket player and current Yorkshire County Cricket Club captain
- Barry R. Clarke, International Puzzle Author
- Mike Heaton, Embrace Drummer
- Sam Burgess, professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the England national rugby league team
- Luke Burgess, older brother of Sam, also a rugby league player for Leeds Rhinos
References
- ^ "Staff List". heckgrammar.kirklees.sch.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Heckmondwike Grammar School". BBC News. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ "State grammar schools outperform independent sector". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ "Heckmondwike Grammar School". The Times. London. Retrieved 2009-09-22.