Students' GCSE joy tempered by school demolition
GCSE students in Rochdale were not able to pick up their results from their school on Thursday, as the buildings shut for the last time in June and are currently being prepared for demolition.
The pupils of Heywood Community High – which ranks among the top twenty most improved schools in the country – had to collect their exam results from a nearby primary school.
Former head teacher, David Yates, said among the joy of another set of excellent results there was quite a lot of sadness for the end of the school's existence. It was condemned to closure as part of Rochdale Council's shake-up of schools, with pupils distributed to the local alternatives of either Siddal Moor Sports College or Holy Family College in Heywood.
In 2004, just 10 per cent of pupils achieved at five A to C grades including English and maths, but Mr Yates has managed to make a remarkable turn-around. A consistent year-on-year rise in passes since 2004 culminated in 71 per cent of all the pupils achieving at least five A to C passes.
Jordan Hamer-Wynn, 16, who achieved seven A to C grades including Maths and English, lamented the school's fate, saying, "It's just the best school in the country and there was nothing that could happen to make it any better apart from keeping it open which was impossible."
Sue Brown, Head of Schools at Rochdale Borough Council said the decision was made to close the school "due to falling pupil numbers."
