St Bede's Grammar School


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

Grammar school

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.
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.

Comprehensive

The school has had comprehensive status since the 1960s, and was no longer a grammar school. 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 Gerry Sutcliffe. A new extension containing new offices and classrooms was built in the late 2000s.
From 2008 the school had one federated governing body with St Joseph's Catholic College and Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College and when Yorkshire Martyrs 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.

Merger

The school merged with St. Joseph's Catholic College in September 2014 to form St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College. 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

Comprehensive