Hipperholme Grammar School has announced a one-site plan, bringing together young people from the ages of three to 18 on one site for the first time, led by a new head teacher.
Hipperholme Grammar School, which was launched as the independent Hipperholme Grammar School Foundation in 1985, currently comprises of a junior site at Wakefield Road, Lightcliffe and a senior site at Bramley Lane, Hipperholme.
Across its two sites, the school provides independent education for children with a strong focus on working with every pupil as an individual in order to maximise both their educational and personal development.
The Grammar School Foundation has announced the newly developed one-site plan after a period of consultation with parents and governors. The entire school will relocate to the Bramley Lane site in time for the new school year in September.
Building conversion work to accommodate the expansion will begin as soon as possible and includes a dedicated early years’ nursery and reception along with junior classrooms.
Jackie Griffiths has been appointed as the new head teacher of the Grammar School Foundation. She will take over the reins in September from Jack Williams who has been head teacher since 2012 and will work closely with Sarah Weller, the head teacher of the Junior School, to roll out the new vision for the school.
I am absolutely delighted to be appointed as the Head of the Foundation and am eagerly looking forward to welcoming our Junior School onto the Grammar School site – Jackie Griffiths, Head of the Grammar School Foundation
Speaking about the appointment she says: “I am absolutely delighted to be appointed as the Head of the Foundation and am eagerly looking forward to welcoming our Junior School onto the Grammar School site. Mrs Weller and I are extremely excited by the opportunities the re-location offers to our whole community.
“In both sections of the school, I am keen to maintain our enviable record of pastoral care and believe that being together on one site will encourage further development of our caring and family orientated ethos. In sport, dance, music and other creative aspects, there are limitless opportunities for extra-curricular activities and I am dedicated to promoting, extending and involving all our pupils in these wider experiences.
“We say in the Junior School, ‘this is where great journeys start’; it is my ambition to ensure that the journey continues in a seamless, enjoyable and exciting way throughout our pupils’ education.”
Mrs Griffiths added that the School’s recent successes at both GCSE and in pupils achieving their first choice secondary school place in Year 6, reflects the excellent teaching across the Foundation and she is looking forward to continuing and enhancing these academic achievements.
Jack Williams, who is currently head teacher at Hipperholme Grammar School, will be taking up a position in a new school in September, added: “Mrs Griffiths has been an integral part of the recent successes of the school both in terms of results and our education provision. The Governors did not want a change of direction in those areas and so her appointment was an obvious decision and I wish her and the school every success in this new, exciting endeavour.”
