Heywood Community High School

High school in Darnhill, Heywood, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
53°35′16″N 2°15′08″W / 53.5879°N 2.2523°W / 53.5879; -2.2523InformationTypeHigh School
Community SchoolEstablished1966
(as Sutherland High School)Closed31 August 2010Local authorityRochdaleDepartment for Education URN105835 TablesChairMrs V PurslowHeadteacherMr David YatesGenderMixed-sexAge11 to 16Enrolment216 (at the time of closure)Former nameSutherland High SchoolWebsitewww.hchs.co.uk

Heywood Community High School was a secondary school in the Heywood district of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. The school closed 30 June 2010 to students[1] but officially closed on 31 August 2010.[2]

History

The school opened in 1966 as Sutherland High School.[3][4] The school was renamed to Heywood Community High School 31 August 1990.

In 2006 when the position of Headteacher was appointed to David Yates the school's performance improved dramatically, from 10% A*-C GCSE grade to 71% in 2010, the year of the school's closure.[5] This made the school one of the best in the Rochdale borough[5] and in the top 20 most improved schools in the country.[6][7]

The school officially closed on 31 August 2010,[2] as a result of the British Government's Building Schools for the Future strategy.[1][8] The school stopped accepting new students in 2008 in order to phase out the majority of students in preparation for the closure in 2010. When the school closed the majority of remaining students were transferred to neighbouring Siddal Moor Sports College[9] and the remainder to Holy Family College.[1] In the school's last Ofsted report it was found to be outstanding in many areas.[10] The former school building was demolished in late 2010.

In the media

  • 27 September 2003 the school had a large fire in the technology department. The school was open as usual after the fire.[11]
  • 10 August 2010 Arsonists deliberately set fire to the former school building. Two days later another fire was started in the building. Heywood councillor Jacqui Beswick reported the site has been left unsecured.[12][13][14]
  • 26 August 2010 the school announced record GCSE exam results for the last year of the school. 71% of students achieved A*-C grades.[5] This was above the national average of 69.1% that year.[15]

Notable alumni

  • Elliott Tittensor, an actor best known for his role of Carl Gallagher in the Channel 4 show Shameless, is a former student of Heywood Community High School. He left the school in 2006.[16]
  • Luke Tittensor is an actor best known for playing Daz Eden in the ITV soap Emmerdale. He is the twin brother of Elliott Tittensor.[17]

Sutherland High School

  • Mike Hill, Labour MP since 2017 for Hartlepool
  • Outside Sutherland High School in 1977
    Outside Sutherland High School in 1977
  • Aerial view of Sutherland High School in 1977
    Aerial view of Sutherland High School in 1977
  • The drive of Heywood Community High School
    The drive of Heywood Community High School
  • The reception area, displaying HCHS on the tower
    The reception area, displaying HCHS on the tower
  • The school whilst being demolished
    The school whilst being demolished

References

  1. ^ a b c "GCSE pupils' 'heartbreak' at Rochdale school demolition". BBC News. 24 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b EduBase - HCHS[permanent dead link] edubase.gov.uk.
  3. ^ Link4Life Darnhill Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Link4Life.
  4. ^ Sutherland High School[permanent dead link] Edubase.
  5. ^ a b c Gray, Lisa (26 August 2010). "RIP Heywood Community School". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N. Media. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012.
  6. ^ Results boost for HCHS Rochdale News Online.
  7. ^ "Reward scheme pays off at school". Heywood Advertiser. M.E.N. Media. 22 January 2009.
  8. ^ Rochdale BSF Consultation Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine rohdale.gov.uk
  9. ^ Harvey, Paul (8 October 2009). "School's name will live on". Heywood Advertiser. M.E.N. Media. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012.
  10. ^ 2009 HM Ofsted Report[permanent dead link] ofsted.gov.uk
  11. ^ "Pupils off after school fire". BBC News. 28 September 2003.
  12. ^ Deliberate fire at HCHS Rochdale News Online.
  13. ^ Second school fire in 2 days Rochdale News Online.
  14. ^ "School under firebug attack". Heywood Advertiser. M.E.N. Media. 19 August 2010.
  15. ^ Vasagar, Jeevan (24 August 2010). "GCSE results: Record results see pass rates rise for 23rd year in a row". guardian.co.uk. London: Guardian News and Media.
  16. ^ Parker, Gareth (28 February 2007). "No shame in playing tough role on screen". Heywood Advertiser. M.E.N. Media.
  17. ^ Luke Tittensor IMDb