Greenhead College
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| Greenhead College | |
 |
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| Established | 1980 |
| Type | Sixth form |
| Headteacher | Martin Rostron |
| Deputy Headteacher | Alistair Brodie-Brown |
| Location | Greenhead Road Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD1 4ES England |
| LEA | Kirklees |
| Staff | 100 (approx) |
| Students | 1767 (2007)[1] |
| Gender | Mixed-sex education |
| Ages | 16 to 19 |
| Website | www.greenhead.ac.uk |
| Coordinates: 53°38′49″N 1°47′31″W / 53.647°N 1.792°W | |
Greenhead College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Huddersfield, in the English county of West Yorkshire. The current principal is Martin Rostron.
With around 1800 pupils, it is a relatively large college, attracting pupils from as far afield as Wakefield, Manchester, Barnsley, Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Oldham and even Wetherby.
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[edit] Reputation
Greenhead has a good reputation, with a regular annual flow of students into both Oxford and Cambridge universities.[2]. The college topped The Guardian and The Independent A level college league tables in 2006.[3] It came fourth in 2007,[4] and sixth in 2008.[5]
[edit] Criticism
It has been criticised for selecting only the brightest students, but this has been denied by the principal Martin Rostron, saying "It's not true. We do take in students of all abilities".[6]
[edit] Feeder System
Students from feeder schools are given priority to those from other schools, and are only required to obtain a minimum of five GCSE C grades (including a C in either Mathematics or English) to gain a place at the college.[7] Students from non-feeder schools are considered on their mock GCSE results, 1 to 1 interview and space on courses, following consideration of feeder school students.[7]
[edit] Campus
The Greenhead College campus is located on one site, near the centre of Huddersfield. The campus is fairly small in comparison with the number of students enrolled - however, it manages to effectively provide provision for a multitude of subjects taught.
[edit] Internally
The college has approximately 8 main buildings, which are all internally linked. These blocks represent a subject or group of similar subjects.
[edit] Externally
The college has a small football field and 2 tennis courts on site and a small hockey field. Many[8] of the enrichments are done off campus due to the lack of outdoor space owing to the proximity to Huddersfield town centre.
[edit] Staff
There are currently around 100 teaching staff to cater for the large number of students. However this number is larger due to the canteen staff, IT technicians, lab technicians and caretakers that also serve in the college.
[edit] Hierarchy
As stated, Martin Rostron is the current principal and the vice principal is Anton McGrath. There is also a few assistant principals as well as the subject heads and then finally the subject teachers and assistants. There is also a Senior Student system at the college, where the students vote the heads of their Student Union. There are a total of 6 positions available and it is a great honour to represent the college.
[edit] Subject Choices
[edit] Optionally
Students usually take 4 AS levels of their choice and then 3 A levels, although this varies as students can take up to 6 A levels. There are over 30 subjects for students to consider.[9]
[edit] Not optional
Also, students take a level 3 Key Skills Qualification, which is built in with the timetable.[10] It includes three major components - Application of Number, Communication and ICT.
At AS and A2 level, students are also required to take General Studies as an extra qualification.[11]
However, some students are exempt from part of it, as their subject choices cover the key skill. For example, students doing Computing at AS are not required to do the ICT Key Skill - they can choose to do it if they want though.
[edit] Extracurricular activities
Greenhead has a mandatory enrichment programme, which encourages pupils to partake in extracurricular activities such as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Greenhead's Amnesty Group or a variety of sports activities and teams.
As part of the enrichment program, pupils must undertake one week of PaWS (Projects and Work Shadowing) in the lower-sixth. Work shadowing placements include medical, political, scientific and language-based jobs, usually at a senior level within the respective companies. If a pupil does not wish to do work shadowing, many projects, from circus skills to mathematical art, are available.
[edit] Awards
- The Queen's Award in 1996.
- The Educational Institution of the Year Award in 1999
- The Beacon College Award in May 1999, and again in September 2004
- The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Excellence in 2000 (for the second time)
- Officially announced as "outstanding" in the May 2004 Ofsted report[12]
Source: Greenhead College: Awards
[edit] Notable alumni
- Mona Siddiqui, British Muslim academic.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ "Greenhead College". Department for Children, Schools and Families. http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/cgi-bin/performancetables/school_07.pl?Mode=Z&No=3828600&Type=LA&Num=382&Phase=a&Year=07&Base=a. Retrieved on 2009-01-04.
- ^ "Student Destinations". Greenhead College. http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/exam_results/destinations.aspx.
- ^ "A-levels 2006: colleges". The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/alevels/page/0,,1852554,00.html.
- ^ "School Exam Results: Summer 2007". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/schooltables/2007/alevels/colleges. Retrieved on 2009-06-08.
- ^ "School Exam Results: Summer 2008". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/schooltables/2008/alevels/colleges. Retrieved on 2009-06-08.
- ^ "Reasons to be cheerful". The Independent. 2005-01-13. http://news.independent.co.uk/education/education_news/article14607.ece. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
- ^ a b "Entry Requirements". Greenhead College. http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/admissions/index.htm#entry.
- ^ "Greenhead College Enrichments". Greenhead College. http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/enrichment/index.htm.
- ^ "Subjects We Offer". Greenhead College. http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/subjects/subjects.htm. Retrieved on 2009-01-06.
- ^ "Welcome to the Key Skills department". Greenhead College. http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/subjects/keyskills/. Retrieved on 2009-01-06.
- ^ "Welcome to the department of General Studies". Greenhead College. http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/subjects/general_studies/index.htm. Retrieved on 2009-01-06.
- ^ "Greenhead College". Ofsted. 2004. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/Internet/menuitem.7c7b38b14d870c7bb1890a01637046a0/?urn=130538&providerCategoryID=128. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
- ^ "The House I Grew Up In, featuring Mona Siddiqui". BBC Radio 4. 13 August 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/thehouseigrewupin/pip/9yhpv/. Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
