From 1st September Upper Batley High School became the new name for Batley Business & Enterprise College. This new name is accompanied by a whole new look for the school in terms of a new uniform, new logo, whole school refurbishment and an entire new, state of the art computer system. The rebranding has been masterminded by the students and they have been a fundamental part of the design process.
Headteacher Sam Vickers said “Our students have excellent leadership skills and are highly innovative and creative. Our new image reflects how our school has moved forward to become the school of choice for boys in Kirklees.”
The school achieved fantastic GCSE results last summer with 64% of students achieving the highest possible GCSE grades. 54% achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSE grades, including English and mathematics and many students achieved the top grades of A*/A.
Excellent results were achieved again in science, which is an extremely strong subject in the school, in English and in mathematics. 100% of the Year 11 students are now going on to further education, employment or training and the Batley Buzz is tangible as staff and students celebrate this year’s wonderful achievements.
Headteacher Sam Vickers also said “We are incredibly proud of our Year 11 students who have achieved excellent results this year and I’d like to say really well done to everyone. GCSEs are a crucial stepping stone in education and we wish all of our students the very best of luck as they move on to college, employment or training. We recruit only outstanding teachers who are highly skilled in the classroom and experts in their field. Having such a talented team of professionals ensures our students receive a first class education and make great progress. In 2014 we were in the Top 50% of schools in the United Kingdom for Pupil Progress and we know the excellent results this year will move us even further up the rankings. I firmly believe that a good school is like a good family where everyone supports each other to be the best that they can be. We have a great family and a great school here in Batley.”
Upper Batley High School has a bespoke curriculum designed specifically for boys’ high achievement and as well as high academic standards, the school has first class pastoral care. The Barnyard is where learning is taken outside of the classroom and students learn to care for small animals. The school also has its very own Forest School which teaches young people how to be more independent, how to problem solve and really develops confidence and self esteem.
The school has received excellent feedback from Ofsted in June 2015. Ofsted commented on the ‘rapid improvements’ and ‘rapid progress’ being made and this has been endorsed by the high achievement this summer. Please come and visit us and see the fantastic teaching in action. We are recruiting students now for September 2016 intake and our Open Evening is from 4-7pm on Wednesday 16th September.
