West Leeds High School
Encyclopedia
West Leeds High School Specialist Technology College
was a mixed comprehensive school
located in Armley
in Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England
. The school had around 1,200 students on roll from ages 11 to 18. The school was replaced with Swallow Hill Community College
in 2009, following the merger between two local schools.
, Bramley
and Wortley
areas of Leeds
for 100 years.
, the 10 year old son, Oswald Harland, of the headmaster (shared his son's name) died of pyaemia
in Leeds General Infirmary.
By the 1950s the schools were known as West Leeds High School for Boys, with 500 boys, and West Leeds High School for Girls, with 450 girls. They were administered by the City of Leeds Education Committee.
In 1959 the Girls School moved to a new campus and formed West Leeds Girls' High School on the Congress Mount Campus, with 550 girls. The Boys' school remained at the Tong Road Campus and formed West Leeds Boys' High School on Whingate, with 550 boys.
In 1993 the Schools finally remerged to form West Leeds High School. The Congress Mount Campus was expanded in 1999 to become the size it is today. The boys' campus was sold off and turned into 66 apartments by North British Houseing and renamed as 'Old School Lofts'.
The School also merged with Benjamin Gott
High School, as the school had failing results and students on its roll.
In 2004 the School applied for the Technology Status and was achieved to become West Leeds High School Specialist Technology College. The School renovated some of the classrooms and fitted new SmartBoard Software in classrooms.
to form one new school. This was said to be due to the falling birth rate in the local area. Both schools opposed the merger saying merging would create more faults than benefits. However the merger got approval and the construction of the new school began in 2008 on the West Leeds High School Site. In May 2008 the new name was released Swallow Hill Community College
.
When the new school was complete the West Leeds buildings were emptied and closed in September 2009. In October 2009 the school buildings began to be demolished to be replaced with sports fields for the new school.
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
was a mixed comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
located in Armley
Armley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, 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...
. The school had around 1,200 students on roll from ages 11 to 18. The school was replaced with Swallow Hill Community College
Swallow Hill Community College
Swallow Hill Community College is a new comprehensive school, built to replace the former West Leeds High School and Wortley High Schools. The school opened in September 2009 using two sites, the main site on the previous West Leeds High fields and the Wortley High buildings for the lower...
in 2009, following the merger between two local schools.
Historical background
It served the ArmleyArmley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
, Bramley
Bramley, Leeds
Bramley is a district in west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is an old industrial area and home to a lot of 19th century architecture alongside 20th century council housing in the east and private suburban housing to the west. It has its own railway station which is on the Caldervale and...
and Wortley
Wortley, West Yorkshire
Wortley is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins one mile to the west of the city centre.In the 1086 Domesday Book it is mentioned as Wirtlei, also Wirtleie and Wrleia. Later it was known as Wirkelay until about 1700...
areas of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
for 100 years.
Grammar school
The West Leeds High School opened on 7 September 1907 to improve standards in the city. The school was effectively two schools in one as both Girls and Boys were kept completely separate from each other. In September 1930, following a knock on the knee in the gymnasium on a vaulting horseVault (gymnastics)
The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...
, the 10 year old son, Oswald Harland, of the headmaster (shared his son's name) died of pyaemia
Pyaemia
Pyaemia is a type of septicaemia that leads to widespread abscesses of a metastatic nature. It is usually caused by the staphylococcus bacteria by pus-forming organisms in the blood. Apart from the distinctive abscesses, pyaemia exhibits the same symptoms as other forms of septicaemia...
in Leeds General Infirmary.
By the 1950s the schools were known as West Leeds High School for Boys, with 500 boys, and West Leeds High School for Girls, with 450 girls. They were administered by the City of Leeds Education Committee.
In 1959 the Girls School moved to a new campus and formed West Leeds Girls' High School on the Congress Mount Campus, with 550 girls. The Boys' school remained at the Tong Road Campus and formed West Leeds Boys' High School on Whingate, with 550 boys.
Comprehensive
The schools retained their name as 13-18 ages comprehensives.In 1993 the Schools finally remerged to form West Leeds High School. The Congress Mount Campus was expanded in 1999 to become the size it is today. The boys' campus was sold off and turned into 66 apartments by North British Houseing and renamed as 'Old School Lofts'.
The School also merged with Benjamin Gott
Benjamin Gott
Benjamin Gott was one of the leading figures in the industrial revolution, in the field of textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once the largest factory in the world and is now home to the Armley Mills Industrial Museum.Gott was born in Calverley, Pudsey in West Yorkshire,...
High School, as the school had failing results and students on its roll.
In 2004 the School applied for the Technology Status and was achieved to become West Leeds High School Specialist Technology College. The School renovated some of the classrooms and fitted new SmartBoard Software in classrooms.
Performance
West Leeds served a highly social and economic disadvantage background area. Through strong leadership the school managed to increase its A*-C GCSE Examination Results from 19% in 2000 to 39% in 2006.Closure
In 2006 the school was told that it would be merging with local school Wortley High SchoolWortley High School
Wortley High School was a smaller than average secondary school which served an area of high socio-economic deprivation in the Wortley, Armley, and Bramley areas of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, before it merged with local high school West Leeds High School...
to form one new school. This was said to be due to the falling birth rate in the local area. Both schools opposed the merger saying merging would create more faults than benefits. However the merger got approval and the construction of the new school began in 2008 on the West Leeds High School Site. In May 2008 the new name was released Swallow Hill Community College
Swallow Hill Community College
Swallow Hill Community College is a new comprehensive school, built to replace the former West Leeds High School and Wortley High Schools. The school opened in September 2009 using two sites, the main site on the previous West Leeds High fields and the Wortley High buildings for the lower...
.
When the new school was complete the West Leeds buildings were emptied and closed in September 2009. In October 2009 the school buildings began to be demolished to be replaced with sports fields for the new school.
Former teachers
- John Wishart (statistician)John Wishart (statistician)John Wishart was a Scottish mathematician and agricultural statistician.He worked successively at University College London with Karl Pearson, at Rothamsted Experimental Station with Ronald Fisher, and then as a reader in statistics in the University of Cambridge where he became the first...
, known for the Wishart distribution (taught Maths from 1922-4)
Boys' grammar school
- Sir Jeffrey Benson, businessman, Group Chief Executive from 1978-82 of NatWest, and President from 1983-5 of the Institute of Bankers (now called the ifs School of Finance)
- Joseph HileyJoseph HileyJoseph Hiley was a British Conservative Party politician, and a member of the Conservative Monday Club. He was Member of Parliament for Pudsey from 1959 until his retirement at the February 1974 general election....
, Conservative MP from 1959-74 for PudseyPudsey (UK Parliament constituency)Pudsey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :... - Prof Colin McGreavy, Professor of Chemical Engineering from 1974-97 at the University of LeedsUniversity of LeedsThe University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
- John Sheldon OBE, Joint General Secretary from 1996-2000 of the Public and Commercial Services UnionPublic and Commercial Services UnionThe Public and Commercial Services Union is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in government departments and other public bodies although some work for private companies.- Membership and organisation :...
, and General Secretary from 1993-6 of the National Union of Civil and Public ServantsNational Union of Civil and Public ServantsThe National Union of Civil and Public Servants was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was formed in 1988 with the merger of the Civil Service Union and the Society of Civil and Public Servants....
, and from 1982-88 of the Civil Service UnionCivil Service UnionThe Civil Service Union was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was formed in 1944 from the Government Minor and Manipulative Grades Association.The union primarily worked in the Civil Service, but also in other public organisations... - Cecil Shipp CB OBE, deputy Director-General from 1982-8 of MI5MI5The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
- Phil TatePhil TatePhil Tate was an English dance bandleader.Born John Philip Tate in Bramley, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, Tate played violin from the age of eight, and was later an autodidact on clarinet and saxophone. He formed his own group, the Five Quavers, while in high school, and played in the RAF Silver...
, musician
Girls' grammar school
- Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Joan Metcalfe CB, Director of Royal Air Force Nursing Services (Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing ServicePrincess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing ServicePrincess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force.It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment as the Royal Air Force Nursing Service on 27 January 1921...
) from 1978-81