The Ridings School
Encyclopedia
The Ridings was a secondary school for ages 11–18 in Ovenden
, Halifax
, West Yorkshire
, England
, overseen by the Calderdale
local authority. It was created in 1995 when two local secondary modern schools merged. The school is relatively small for its type; as of 2007 it had 537 students, of whom 28 were in the sixth form
. Before it became the Ridings school, it was known as The Ovenden High School (which closed on 31 December 1994).
The headteacher, Anna White was rewarded with a CBE in 1999 for improving the school. After it had been labelled "Britain's worst school". Anna then left the role of Headteacher in 2004 which then passed onto Stuart Todd who also had a reputation for improving schools. along with a new management team, he then led the school to record grades later.
In 1996 the school received nationwide attention when staff said 60 of its pupils were "unteachable" and school operations were temporarily suspended while the headmaster and other leading staff were replaced. The school subsequently enjoyed greatly improved GCSE examination results, however its 2005 Ofsted
report regarded it as "inadequate" (one grade above "failing") overall, although "well placed to move forward".
In the subsequent Ofsted inspection in 2008 however, after being placed in special measures, the school was rated "good".
On 29 October 2007, Calderdale Council announced that the school would be closed down.
The school closed on 15 July 2009 and the building may be demolished.
Headmaster of the school up to the time of closing down was Stuart Todd, along with the deputies Stuart Edghill and Victoria Callaghan.
In the 2008 GCSE results, the school received record grades and record number of students who received 5 or more GCSE's at grade C or above. In the final year of the Ridings, this was bettered again and the Final prom was held.
The final prom for the Ridings School was held at Berties Elland.
As of today, the school still stands, yet the top section where the staff room and reception has been converted into a doctors. The rest of the school is unused and undecided by the council except for the sports center which is used for sporting clubs and gym membership.
Ovenden
Ovenden is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, located next to Boothtown and Illingworth and about 1 mile from Halifax town centre.Ovenden had a railway station, originally on the Halifax and Ovenden Junction Railway line...
, Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, overseen by the Calderdale
Calderdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...
local authority. It was created in 1995 when two local secondary modern schools merged. The school is relatively small for its type; as of 2007 it had 537 students, of whom 28 were in the sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
. Before it became the Ridings school, it was known as The Ovenden High School (which closed on 31 December 1994).
The headteacher, Anna White was rewarded with a CBE in 1999 for improving the school. After it had been labelled "Britain's worst school". Anna then left the role of Headteacher in 2004 which then passed onto Stuart Todd who also had a reputation for improving schools. along with a new management team, he then led the school to record grades later.
In 1996 the school received nationwide attention when staff said 60 of its pupils were "unteachable" and school operations were temporarily suspended while the headmaster and other leading staff were replaced. The school subsequently enjoyed greatly improved GCSE examination results, however its 2005 Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
report regarded it as "inadequate" (one grade above "failing") overall, although "well placed to move forward".
In the subsequent Ofsted inspection in 2008 however, after being placed in special measures, the school was rated "good".
On 29 October 2007, Calderdale Council announced that the school would be closed down.
The school closed on 15 July 2009 and the building may be demolished.
Headmaster of the school up to the time of closing down was Stuart Todd, along with the deputies Stuart Edghill and Victoria Callaghan.
In the 2008 GCSE results, the school received record grades and record number of students who received 5 or more GCSE's at grade C or above. In the final year of the Ridings, this was bettered again and the Final prom was held.
The final prom for the Ridings School was held at Berties Elland.
As of today, the school still stands, yet the top section where the staff room and reception has been converted into a doctors. The rest of the school is unused and undecided by the council except for the sports center which is used for sporting clubs and gym membership.