Heckmondwike Grammar School

About the School

Heckmondwike Grammar School has a very strong reputation in the local area, regionally and even nationally as a school which does all it can to support students in achieving the highest grades and progressing to the best possible destinations.

Heckmondwike Grammar School has a philosophy based on over 120 years of tradition, that once a Heckmondwike student, always a Heckmondwike student and their mutual support can stretch way beyond school years in to adulthood.

Every child really does matter and staff work hard to ensure that no student is left behind. The school strategy involves a safety net made up of a combination of Subject and Faculty Leaders working with classroom teachers to maximise progress; alongside Heads of Year and Key Stage Assistant Headteachers working with form tutors to ensure students’ wellbeing.

Support from parents and carers is first class and this presents a coherent and united approach to achieving excellence for all.

All teaching staff are graduates and specialists in the subjects they teach. Many staff have been at the school a long time and are hugely experienced in teaching very able, aspirant grammar school students from year 7, up to the highest standards of A level.

These staff have the perfect foil from staff who are in their first few years of teaching, who are exceptionally enthusiastic and creative in the career they love. A significant proportion of staff work for exam boards which is a measure of the high regard they are held in.

Operational staff are superb in their dedication to the cause, providing a framework and environment from which all those at Heckmondwike Grammar School can flourish and thrive.

Governors are inquisitive, challenging and very supportive and provide the final piece of the jigsaw which alongside the motto of ‘Nil Sine Labore’– nothing without work, creates a very positive ethos that enables all to perform to the highest possible standard.

Not only does Heckmondwike Grammar School encourage independent learning amongst all students as part of this approach; they also demonstrate it practically as an organisation. Heckmondwike Grammar School was one of the very first outstanding schools nationally to open as an Academy on 1st September 2010. The school believes that the greater independence this provides allows them to go even further in realising their aim of providing first class, best practice education for all.

The success of Heckmondwike Grammar School can be illustrated in many ways: their last 4 Ofsted reports have all rated the school as outstanding, exam outcomes are consistently excellent, they have a plethora of extra-curricular activities centred around the House system, typically over 90% of students continue in to the sixth form and of these a similar proportion progress in to high calibre undergraduate courses.

Heckmondwike Grammar School want all of the children who come to the school to enjoy their school days and from this foundation become thoughtful, articulate, confident and responsible members of society.