WHITEHILL COMMUNITY ACADEMY in West Yorkshire, Halifax

Education Centre Information: Whitehill Community Academy:

Establishment Type:Academy Converter
Phase of Education: Primary
Status: Open
Local Authority: Calderdale
Reason Establishment Opened: Academy Converter
Establishment Open Date: 01/04/2011
Boarders: No Boarders
Urban/Rural Description: Urban > 10k - less sparse
Special Classes: No Special Classes
Religious Character: None
Nursery Provider: Has Nursery Classes
Total Pupils: 494
Number of boys: 243
Number of girls: 251
Age Range: 3-11
Gender: Mixed
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Background:

Whitehill School was opened in 1953 by the then Speaker of the House of Commons, the Right Honourable Viscount Ruffolde of Hexham. The school is set in 'spacious' grounds where wild life areas, shrubs and trees have been planted, forming a 'green oasis in a densely populated area', and the school has won several major grants to assist them with these developments. Whitehill runs a programme of after-school activities, and former sporting old boys include Brian Moore, the former England international rugby player and Gary Fellows who plays for the Yorkshire County Cricket team. The school is 'actively involved' in the International Dimension and has worked with schools in France, Italy and Norway. It gained a silver ECU medal for work under the European Schools and Colleges award. Whitehall is a partner school of the Halifax Learning Zone and has inititated several school-based innovations designed to involve families of pupils in the 'learning and teaching experience at home', especially with regard to the use of ICT and the creative arts. The school'supports several local and national charities and also provides additional funds for children with major physical handicaps who live in the local community. Within the school's personnal social health education syllabus the school has worked closely with both the police and fire departments. Pupils were proud to win the Calderdale inter-school drama festival prize early in 1999 on the theme of fire prevention. Local churches are very supportive of the school, which is 'firmly rooted in the community it serves'. The school gained Investor in People status in 1998 and this was recently reviewed successfully. It achieved the Sport England Mark in 2001 and gained the Education Extra distinction award in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2000 for the quality of its out of hours provision. Recent successes include the prestigious Kick Start award in 2001 for its equal opportunities stance and anti racist education.