ROYDS Hall High is celebrating 90 years of being a school at the heart of the community.

From its humble beginnings as a 69-pupil secondary school in 1921, the school has grown considerably in both size and reputation over the decades.

Today Royds Hall has 842 pupils and is a trust school which embodies the ethical deeds and fair trade ethos of the Co-operative movement.

Teachers from all over the region come to Paddock to see for themselves their highly successful tutoring and curriculum systems, which involve bringing students of varying ages together.

The school is also a specialist college for science and mathematics, which enables Royds Hall to attract extra resources in these fields. Staff believe that this helps them to better prepare students for work or higher education.

They are proud of their record that not a single school leaver last summer was classed as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).

Staff and pupils have already begun celebrating the 90-year milestone. At a recent event at Cathedral House, St Thomas Road, more than 300 students received books and tokens for “excellent achievement” in school and the community.

At another event, some 300 people visited the school to see old photographs and enjoy afternoon tea on the lawn. Headteacher Melanie Williams said: “There are an awful lot of people in the community who came to Royds Hall and regard it with affection.

“The school has been delivering high quality education for 90 years and is very much at the heart of the community.

“We were an early multi-cultural school and currently have 45% of students with multi-cultural backgrounds, representing 30 countries.

“Paddock has always been an area which has attracted immigrants and it is a very vibrant community. Our students understand the importance of harmony and are immensely proud of the school.”

In May of this year, Royds Hall became a Co-operative Trust School. Ms Williams summed up the school’s ethos: “Aspire, learn and achieve in a caring and mutually supporting environment”

The school’s trust partners are Huddersfield New College, Huddersfield Town Football Club, Holmfirth Fair Traders and Sheffield Hallam University Science Centre.

One of the school’s pioneering methods is its “vertical curriculum”. Teachers take classes of option subjects with mixed aged groups, drawn from Years Nine to 11 (13 to 15-year-olds). The subjects are studied more intensively, with two three-hour classes a week, and the scheme has proved highly successful.

It enables students to take GCSEs on option subjects – not the core subjects – early. The intensive sessions also help the students to immerse themselves in a subject for three hours at a time and the school to add new subjects to the curriculum.

It is introducing astronomy and already runs psychology and sociology.

Jeremy Haigh, associate headteacher, said: “The vertical curriculum has been a big success. We have a lot of people visiting us to look at teaching the option subjects vertically.

“It is much more effective, we would not go back to the old system. Some students have excelled, they have got their GCSEs early and it has raised standards across the board.

“It really is very motivating for the students. There are other offshoots we had not expected, there is less movement around the school, behaviour has improved and students feel they can really get their teeth into a subject.”

Ms Williams added: “Now is a really exciting time for us. This is a bit of a transition period for the school. Having got the Trust sorted out we are looking forward to the year ahead.”

Royds Hall has just been nominated as an official partner for the Olympic Games and has a number of events planned for the coming year, along with many more 90th anniversary events.

The year 2012 certainly looks like being a very busy and exciting time for staff and students alike at Royds Hall High School.

OFSTED REPORT

In the recent Ofsted report, published on October 6, 2011, the school received a ‘good’ grade in terms of overall effectiveness and outcomes for pupils. Schools are graded from one for outstanding to four, which is inadequate.

Royds Hall was marked as ‘Outstanding’ for pupil attendance, healthy lifestyle and their contribution to the community. Staff were also ‘Outstanding’ for the effectiveness of their care, guidance and support.

The Ofsted report stated: “One student summed up the views of many, saying ‘Teachers know you; it’s not so much a school, more like a second home.’”

In an Ofsted questionnaire, 95% of 151 parents who responded agreed or agreed strongly that their child enjoyed school. 99% thought that Royds Hall prepared their child well for the future.

OTHER AWARDS

Royds Hall has received a number of awards for the quality of its work in particular areas, including the Healthy Schools Gold and the Artsmark Gold awards.

It is also recognised as an Advanced Consultant School by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, it holds the Trust’s Inclusion Mark and is a Leadership and Innovation Hub School.

IT has a long and distinguished history.

Joseph Crosland, whose family gave its name to the Crosland Hill area of Huddersfield, constructed the existing building in 1866. It was a family home originally known as Royds Wood.

This mansion, with French and Italian-style grandeur, incorporated a dramatic sweeping staircase, ornate ceilings, spacious and elegant rooms, a billiards room and large conservatory.

The house also had “pleasure gardens” where peaches were grown, an Italianate fountain, stables and a coach house.

Nine years after Joseph’s death in 1904, the house was sold to Huddersfield Corporation for £17,000. Two years later a dramatic period in the history of the house followed.

From 1915 to 1921 the building served as Huddersfield’s Military Hospital. Nurses and doctors lived in the house and prefabricated wards were built on the front field and gardens.

Specially-converted ambulance trains brought the injured to Huddersfield Railway Station. Originally intended for 500 wounded servicemen, by 1916 there were 2,000 beds.

Out of all the 22,000 military personnel who were treated here, only 75 died. This was the lowest mortality rate of any of England’s military hospitals.

The death toll included five Canadians, one of whom, Private Shearman, is buried in Edgerton Cemetery. Every year Royds Hall’s head boy and head girl lay a wreath at his grave and the school is currently trying to trace the man’s family in Canada.

Royds Hall Secondary School, the first co-educational secondary school in Huddersfield, opened on September 20, 1921, with 69 boys and girls.

The school’s most notable Old Boy (1927-32) was Cowlersley-born Harold Wilson, who was twice Prime Minister in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

While at Royds Hall, Harold Wilson appeared in several school plays, was well-liked and was top in Latin, French and history. He went on to Oxford University, but never forgot his roots. He kept in touch with old Huddersfield friends and his school throughout his life, presiding at several Royds Hall speech days.

Another notable former pupil is biochemist Sir Richard Sykes, former chairman of GlaxoSmithKline and president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He is currently chairman of The UK Stem Cell Foundation.