Red Nose Day – 17 March 2023

As ever, HGS will be taking part in a non-uniform day (optional wear-red theme) in an attempt to raise as much money as possible for this fantastic cause.

Donations can be made in school or via ParentPay.

This Red Nose Day, let’s come together to raise some smiles, and money, to help people through the toughest times of their lives. Thank you to everyone for supporting this great cause.

Birthdays come and go, but it is not everyday you are 125 years old. On the 17^th January 2023, Heckmondwike Grammar School has reached that milestone.

During this period, there have been 30 Prime ministers, 11 Headteachers, 2 World Wars and a global pandemic, to name just a few of the historical happenings.

Back in 1898, when the school opened, it was initially called Heckmondwike Higher Grade School and encompassed senior and infants’ sections. The secondary section then became known as the School of Science, when the infants were moved to an alternative site. Only later, in 1929 was the school re-named as Heckmondwike Grammar school. Back then the school served a very small, close knit textile town of Heckmondwike, where students and typically staff walked to school, living and working together. Now in 2023, the school serves a much wider area, with many of the 1500+ students travelling from the outer reaches of West Yorkshire and indeed a few from even further afield. Staff now number over 180 and similarly some travel long distances to work at the prestigious school.

Over the 125 years, the school has remained on its High Street site and the original building is still fully intact and has a prominent vista overlooking the town. Behind the Victorian façade, the school has tastefully been extended to now provide state of the art facilities to students.

To formally mark the anniversary, the whole school community, made up of approximately 1700 students and staff, depicted “HGS 125” on our Multi Use Games Area. The event was captured by drone to create this video. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Today marks the start of a number of planned celebrations in school, with the cutting of a cake at lunchtime and the launch of the aforementioned video, all serenaded by all day HGS radio being presented by students with 125 years of music. Later in the year there are planned open events for everyone to join the celebrations, including a display of 125 years of HGS artefacts.

There will have been many ups and downs in the life of the school, particularly through the turbulent periods in history, but the school has never been in a stronger position, ranked No.2 in the North of England and in the top 20% of schools for top A level results. Indeed, as current custodians of the school we have never been better placed to welcome future generations, and for them to take advantage of all that the school has to offer.

Tuesday the 13^th of December saw 600+ guests attend Heckmondwike Grammar School’s annual Senior Prizegiving ceremony in the grand surroundings of Dewsbury Town Hall. The evening was a very fitting tribute to the outstanding successes of year 11 and 13 students in the record-breaking 2022 examinations.

Throughout the evening the audience were entertained by the fabulous School Band with standout performances of the Motown classic, “What Christmas Means To Me” and “You Will Be Found” from the musical Dear Evan Hansen.

The Guest of Honour, former student Peter Warden, who went on to represent GB in the Olympics, entertained the audience with tales from his career competing and latterly coaching around the world. Peter recognised the most important attributes of an athlete being determination and resilience – very much the same for students working in school.

There were many highlights to the evening, including Reuben Price being presented with the Rex Scholarum award for the highest academic success, having achieved 5 A* grades at A level. Reuben is now reading Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.

Mr Roberts, congratulated all the students and staff for their achievements this year, which were formally recognised in the Sunday Times Parent Power Survey in the ranking of second placed school in the whole of the North of England, which he felt is an exceptional achievement and recognises all the hard work over a number of years.

Thank you to all students, families and staff for attending , we hope you had a wonderful evening. Congratulations once again to all of our prize winners, and a special thank you to our Guest of Honour, Peter Warden.

Professional photographs taken at the event will be available to view and purchase via the following link https://beyonderphotovision.zenfolio.com/senior-prize-giving-22

Heckmondwike Grammar School has achieved the prestigious accolade of this top ranking in the Sunday Times Parent Power survey for 2023. Peter Roberts, Headteacher said, “the ranking reflected the outstanding work of students, staff and parents over a number of years and was just reward for the teamwork exhibited. “We have been ranked the number 1 secondary school in Kirklees and Calderdale for a few years and it is particularly gratifying to also be recognised wider afield.”

“During a very difficult period we have all pulled together to provide the best possible education to enable our students to fulfil their potential. 2022 saw record school results at both GCSE and A level, which is real testament to the students’ hard work and resilience. We had another excellent year for students progressing to university, with record numbers attending the top Russell group and Oxford and Cambridge.”

Mr Roberts went on to recognise the contribution to this success, of exclusively live remote lessons during the national lockdown phases, which maintained the very high standards of teaching and learning. He also commented the wearing of facemasks and high uptake of the vaccine had kept infection rates much lower than national and regional comparative data, so keeping students and staff in school.

“Such accolades are very pleasing and we are delighted to be recognised, but they only come about because of the week in week out hard work from students and staff and I salute my colleagues and students, they are an exceptional team.”

On the 17th January 1898 Heckmondwike Grammar School was established. This means that 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the school. A group of teachers in the school – Mrs
Currie, Mrs Whitelaw, Mrs Doran, Mr Currie, Miss Briggs and Mr Oxby, together with some of our Sixth form students – George Hall, Rowan Lightfoot, Charlotte Alcock, Martha Currie, Freya Thornton and Nancy Roberts, are all working on a project to commemorate this anniversary. The group is being ably assisted by Mrs Dunn and we would like to thank her for her organisational skills!

We are focusing on many aspects of school life, including the history of the school’s founding, key individuals linked to the school, the changing buildings, student life, and house system and putting the school’s history in the context of the changing political, social and economic situation over the 125 years. George Hall in particular, should be singled out for his relentless work on this project. A keen local historian and genealogist, George has thrown himself into this task with enthusiasm. One of his tasks was to transcribe a handwritten history of the school, completed in 1948, on the schools 50th anniversary. The following paragraph is from the concluding comments: “In conclusion, this fiftieth year of the school has seen another great struggle in the effort to
preserve the type of education for which it has stood for half a century. It is satisfying to hear that victory has been won & Heckmondwike Grammar School will continue”.

We would like to encourage any former students, parents and staff to get involved. Please let us know your Heckmondwike Grammar School related stories. We are planning an exhibition in the
new year to coincide with the anniversary, where hopefully we will be able to invite people into the school. Please get in touch if you would like to be involved or have something to contribute:
[email protected] or [email protected].

In the meantime, please follow us on Twitter, where we have a dedicated page: @Heckgrammar125

We have two vacancies for the role of parent governor on our governing board. For more information and details of how to apply, please follow the link below:

Parent Governor Vacancies Letter

Candidate Form 

The HGS Eco-Committee has earned an international accreditation, recognising their amazing work in making our school more environmentally friendly and raising eco-awareness in fellow students.

Eco-Schools is an international education programme that prompts young people to explore sustainability and climate change and take action.

The Eco-Committee conducted an environmental review, assessing how eco-friendly our school is. They reviewed everything from the school’s recycling practices, to energy usage, to how environmental themes are covered in classrooms. Building on their findings, the committee planned a year of activities that would up their green-credentials.

Over the last 12 months the group has ran uniform drives, book swaps, food collections, planted trees, litter picking, held talks and led assemblies. All of this put together led them to achieving the
Green Flag Award with Distinction.

A member of the group said ‘What has been most important has been raising the awareness of how everyone can act more ecologically in their daily lives, in and out of school. While completing this award we have tried our hardest to help the local community along the way, with the food drives and litter picks. Hopefully, improving all of our Global Citizenship.

Eco-Schools England Manager, Adam Flint, said: “Earning an Eco-Schools Green Flag Award takes passion, commitment and a desire to make a difference. Pupils should be proud of their great work. They’re an inspiration and it makes us feel heartened and positive about the future of our planet.”

To learn more about Eco-Schools head to www.eco-schools.org.uk

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