St Bede's Grammar School
| Motto |
Ora Et Labora (Latin: Prayer and Work) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1900 |
| Closed | 2014 |
| Type | Secondary school |
| Religion |
Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds |
| Headteacher | Mr. F. Ashcroft |
| Executive Headteacher | Mr. P. Heitzman |
| Location |
Highgate Heaton Bradford West Yorkshire BD9 4BQ England Coordinates: 53°48′55″N 1°47′15″W / 53.81523°N 1.78741°W |
| Local authority | City of Bradford |
| Colours | Green & Gold |
| Publication | The Baeda |
| School hymn | Baeda |
| Sixth form | St Benedict's Sixth Form |
| Website |
www |
St. Bede's Grammar School, in Heaton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, was a Roman Catholic boys' Secondary school. The school merged with St. Joseph's Catholic College in September 2014 to form St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College. The school is based over both of the former school sites.
School history
St. Bede's Grammar School opened on 12 June 1900, in Drewton Street, Bradford. Its first Headmaster was Rev. Dr. Arthur Hinsley, later Rector of the Venerable English College, Rome, Apostolic Delegate to Africa, and Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster (1935–1943).
In 1919 the school was moved to its present site at Heaton Hall. The old Hall, home of the Rosse family, proved unsatisfactory as the number of pupils continued to grow and a new school was opened in 1939. Since then many additions and alterations have been made to the accommodation. A new technical wing was built in the 1950s, a new refectory and sixth form centre were added in the 1960s, and a Maths/English block was built in the 1970s. New Science laboratories were opened in 2001 and new ICT facilities were provided. By 2008 a new sports hall was opened by Labour Minister for Sports (at the time) Gerry Sutcliffe. A new extension containing new offices and classrooms was built in the late 2000s.
The school has had comprehensive status since the 1960s, and was no longer a grammar school.
From 2008 the school had one federated governing body with St Joseph's Catholic College and Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College and when Yorkshire Martrys closed in 2010 the boys transferred to St Bede's. An Executive Headteacher was appointed in 2009 to oversee both St Bede's and St Joseph's.
The school merged with St. Joseph's Catholic College in September 2014 to form St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College.[1] The former St. Bede's is now used as the upper school site of the new school.
Sixth Form
St Bede's shared an associated sixth form with St. Joseph's Catholic College for many years. In 2008 the sixth forms of St Bede's and St Joseph's joined with the sixth form of Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College to form the Bradford Catholic Sixth Form. When Yorkshire Martyrs closed in 2010 the sixth form transferred to St Bede's and St Joseph's and in 2011 the Sixth Form was renamed St Benedict's Sixth Form.
Notable former pupils
- Andy Kiwomya, footballer
- Chris Kiwomya, footballer
- Mark Bower, footballer
- John Braine, novelist
- Lord Brennan, lawyer and parliamentarian
- Johnnie Casson, comedian
- Mike Hellawell, footballer, played two international games for England in 1962
- Peter Marks (1961–67), chief executive of The Co-operative Group
- Stephen Murgatroyd, academic
- Stepan Lucyszyn, Professor at Imperial College London
- Smokie, 1970s pop music group
- Dave Halley, rugby league player
- Nick Doody, comedian and writer
- Farhan Sattar, International Speaker and writer
- John Riley-Schofield (John Riley), baritone (German Wikipedia link)
- Gerard Whitehead, Rugby League international, former social worker/teacher and presently an Arborist
References
- ↑ "Largest Catholic school in country now planned as St Bede's and St Joseph's may merge in Bradford". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
