Garforth Academy

Garforth Academy
Address
Lidgett Lane Garforth , West Yorkshire , LS25 1LJ England
Coordinates	53.78799°N 1.39196°W / 53.78799; -1.39196
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	"Reaching for Excellence"
Established	1967
Department for Education URN	136343 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Anna Young
Staff	83
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1998
Website	http://www.garforthacademy.org.uk

Garforth Academy (formerly known as Garforth Comprehensive School until September 1992 and Garforth Community College until November 2010) is a secondary school and sixth form for pupils aged 11–18 and is located on Lidgett Lane (B6137) in Garforth, West Yorkshire, England.

The school been awarded the Artsmark (2002),[1] Investors in People Award, (2003), Schools Achievement Award, (2003), Education Extra award, (2001), Sportsmark (2002),[2] and Beacon School status (2000),[3] and OFSTED described the school in 2010 (before it changed to academy status) as an "outstanding school".[2]

History

The school was opened as Garforth Comprehensive School in 1967.[4][5] Barbara Castle, Member of Parliament for Blackburn, performed an official opening of the school on 11 October 1969.[6]

By 1992, the school was known as Garforth Community College.[7] In November 2010, the school became Garforth Academy under the Academies Act 2010,[8] becoming a part of the Delta Academies Trust.[9]

Extracurricular activities

Since 2008, Garforth Academy has partnered with Mzuvele High School in KwaMashu, Durban. In 2011, students from Garforth Academy travelled to Mzuvele to take part in a musical collaboration with students from the school.[10]

In 2010, Garforth Academy hosted the launch of Arts Live, a community arts partnership between the school, Brigshaw High School and ArtForms, the music and arts service provided by Education Leeds.[11]

In literature

In the book The Modfather, David Lines describes his time at the school in the late 1970s and early 1980s in great detail. He described the school as looking like a cold hard slab of institutionalised concrete and, after leaving a leafy Nottinghamshire grammar school, described his shock on his first day of the pupils wearing 'menacing boots' and watching his classmates 'literally kicking seven shades out of each other'.[12]

Academic performance

As a result of improvements in the previous decade, the headteacher, Paul Edwards, received a knighthood in the New Year Honours 2009 for services to local and national education.[13]

Notable alumni

• Gabby Adcock, badminton player[14]
• Will Boyle, footballer[15]
• Jake Charles, footballer[16]
• James Denny, diver^[citation needed]
• Jessica Fletcher, badminton^[citation needed]
• Sian Gabbidon, businesswoman[17]
• Mitchell Lund, footballer^[citation needed]
• Oli McBurnie, footballer^[citation needed]
• Lucy-Jo Hudson, actress^[citation needed]
• Gary Keedy, cricketer[18]
• Chris Silverwood, cricketer[19]
• Phil Sharpe, footballer & football manager^[citation needed]
• Jenny Wallwork, badminton player[20]
• Andrew White, musician[21]
• Ryan Hudson, Rugby League player^[citation needed]
• Tom Olbison, Rugby League player^[citation needed]
• Tommy Spurr, footballer^[citation needed]
• Liam Williams, comedian/writer^[citation needed]

References

1. "Round 2 Artsmark Awards". Arts Council (web archive). Retrieved 4 July 2022
2. "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
3. Taylor, Rob (8 June 2000). "The 300 new Beacon Schools". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
4. "Paul Edwards". BBC Leeds. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
5. "Representatives on Outside Bodies". Leeds Library. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
6. "Barbara Castle MP, opening Garforth Comprehensive School". Leodis. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
7. Whilst no source gives an exact date for the school’s change of name, the earliest mention of Garforth Community College is from the following source from 1992:
   • Massey, Ray (19 November 1992). "The list no parent can afford to miss; Top School 92". Daily Mail. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
8. Norris, Frank (16 February 2012). "Academy conversion and predecessor schools". Letter to Garforth Academy. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
9. "Delta Academies Trust". Get Information About Schools. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
10. "Music bridges gap between cultures in Leeds and Durban". BBC Leeds. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
11. "Garforth's new arts group launched". BBC Leeds. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
12. ISBN 978-0-09-947659-7
13. "No. 58929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2008. p. 1.
14. "Golden girl Gabby shuttles back to school". Yorkshire Evening Post. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
15. "Huddersfield Town AFC Player Profiles: William Boyle". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015.
16. "Welsh U-17's call-up for Huddersfield Town starlet and John Charles' grandson Jake Charles". Yorkshire Live. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
17. "Apprentice winner Sian Gabbidon on her new Sian Marie loungewear range for Asda and how Lord Sugar's support has helped her through the pandemic". The Yorkshire Post. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
18. "Gary Keedy Profile – Cricket Player England | Stats, Records, Video". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
19. Cricinfo – Players and Officials – Chris Silverwood
20. Mackenzie, Paul (30 October 2015). "Badminton champion Jenny Wallwork launches foundation to fight mental health illness". Great British Life. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
21. "'My dad doesn't think playing a guitar is a sensible job and he's probably right'". The Yorkshire Post. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2022.

External links

• School website
• Garforth Community Sixth Form website