Featured News Archives - Greenhead College

Greenhead College crowned FE College of the Year at the Educate North Awards

Posted on April 4, 2025April 4, 2025 by Emily Thompson

Greenhead College is celebrating yet another triumph as it is crowned FE College of the Year at the Educate North Awards 2025!

The FE College of the Year award honours the leading further education institution or sixth form within the North, demonstrating outstanding performance in the areas of teaching, student experience, innovation and economic impact.

The ceremony, hosted by TV Presenter Ranvir Singh, took place on Thursday 3 April, at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester, where the judging panel shared why they selected the College for the top accolade:

“Greenhead College stands out for its exceptional support in raising student aspirations and reducing the achievement gap. With well-evidenced impact, outstanding outcomes, and exemplary work in mental health, wellbeing, and young carers’ support, the college demonstrates a deeply commendable and effective approach to widening participation.”

This achievement continues the College’s string of accomplishments after it recently celebrated another Outstanding Ofsted result following its latest inspection in February 2025. It also achieved the Mental Health and Wellbeing Gold Award and Young Carers Accreditation in 2024.

Mo Bunter, Principal of Greenhead College, expressed her pride commenting:

“As College Principal I am incredibly proud of the whole team, who work so hard every day to ensure that our students receive personalised learning to support them in achieving to their full potential.

Our approach includes developing young people to be resilient and equipped with key transferable skills necessary for the world of work.

This is achieved through the cultural capital offered to our students including a sustained enrichment programme, career aim focused work experience/projects, highly qualified and experienced teachers and personal tutors, and an award-winning Mental Health and Well-being Framework that supports their individual needs.

In addition to this, Greenhead College’s ethos is to ensure that it works closely with its Local Partner Schools, to support them in their ambition to raise outcomes and aspirations across Kirklees. This is achieved by working in schools to deliver both curriculum and aspirational skills sessions that meet the needs of their young people. It is a collaborative approach which works really well.

Our continuous improvement model and inclusive approach means that the College is always forward thinking, in ensuring that what we do meets the needs of our current students.”

We continue to be incredibly proud of our entire College community, and the dedication and care that goes into supporting our students, both pastorally and academically. This award is a real testament to the whole team.

Congratulations to our Class of 2024!

Posted on August 15, 2024September 16, 2024 by Emily Thompson

Greenhead College has once again achieved incredible A Level results, confirming its status as the No.1 A Level College in Yorkshire.

The overall A Level pass rate was 99%, with 85.3% of all grades at A*-C, 64.5% at A*-B, and 34.9% A*/A. 38 students gained an A* in all of their subjects.

College Principal, Simon Lett said: “These fantastic results are a testament to our students’ hard work, resilience and ambition. They are all exceptional, inspiring, and talented young people and I couldn’t be prouder of them and our dedicated and hardworking staff.”

A huge well done and good luck to all of our Class of 2024!

Principal’s Weekly Update

Posted on June 28, 2024July 5, 2024 by Emily Thompson

7 Film Studies students accepted onto prestigious British Film Institute Programme

Posted on November 6, 2023February 20, 2024 by Emily Thompson

Congratulations to a group of our Celluloid students on their successful applications to the prestigious British Film Institute Academy, a competitive and highly sought after academy for aspiring film makers.

Heidi Butterworth, Freya Jacks, Amaani Ali, Harry Holbrook, Finn Boyle, Anna Robinson and Grace Ford were all successful in gaining places onto the Leeds and Bradford BFI Academy Programmes, allowing them the opportunity to explore a range of different aspects to film making including directing, filming, editing and sound, and to work with industry-standard kit and professional mentors from the industry. The students will also gain an additional qualification equitable to a GCSE and a pass to all films in this year’s Leeds International Film Festival.

A huge well done to all 7 students on this exceptional achievement.

Exceptional A Level Results for our Class of 2023

Posted on August 17, 2023September 29, 2023 by Carly Granger

Greenhead College has once again achieved incredible A Level results, confirming its status as one of the best Sixth Form Colleges in the country.

The overall A Level pass rate was 98.2% (national average 97.2%), with 79.6% of all grades at A*-C (national average 75.4%) and 60% at A*-B (national average 52.7%), which is above the national average across all areas. 1276 students gained A Level passes in 3 or more subjects, with 30 students gaining A*/A in 4 or more subjects, and 186 gaining A*/A in 3 subjects.

College Principal Simon Lett said: “This summer’s exams were the first external assessments taken by this year group, as they were unable to sit their GCSEs in 2021 due to the pandemic.

“These fantastic results are a testament to our students’ resilience and high aspirations in incredibly challenging circumstances. They are all exceptional, inspiring, and talented young people and I couldn’t be prouder of them and our dedicated and hardworking staff.”

Greenhead College is celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2023 with the opening of a new £25 million building containing classrooms, laboratories, and both study and social space for students.

Greenhead artwork to feature as part of Oxfam’s Climate Justice Campaign at Glastonbury Festival

Posted on June 6, 2023June 6, 2023 by Emily Thompson

We’re excited to reveal that we have been selected to feature at Oxfam’s Climate Justice Campaign at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

In 2022, Greenhead College supported the Oxfam Climate Justice Postcard campaign where students and staff wrote postcards to the Climate Negotiators at COP27 in a bid to encourage them to commit to climate justice.

Following this, we are proud to reveal that we were chosen as one of 25 schools and colleges nationwide to produce a large banner for display in the interstage zone at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, forming part of Oxfam’s campaign.

Before half term, our A Level Art and Design students worked together with Greenhead Alumnus Jakob Morris from @Morris_Arts, a student from Chelsea College of Arts in London to produce the banner.

Head of Art, Rachel Lumb said: “It has been a great experience for our students working on a large-scale and powerful banner for such an epic festival.”

The issue relating to Climate Justice they have concentrated on is that of gender.

The UN indicates that 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women and girls. Natural disasters and heightened conflict due to climate disasters increase competition for resources and leave women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals at risk of displacement, in addition to violence and food insecurity.

They wanted the image to be that of strength in the face of adversity which women always have to develop. We didn’t want the woman to depicted as a ‘victim’ but an image that instils feelings of hope and change. The woman featured on the banner is a survivor of drought but also hopefully a survivor of climate change and the inherent injustice and an aspiration of hope.

Exceptional Oxbridge Success 2023

Posted on February 9, 2023February 9, 2023 by Emily Thompson

It’s celebrations all round as 20 Greenhead College students are offered places to study at either Oxford or Cambridge, the UK’s most prestigious Universities.

The offers cover an exciting range of degree courses including Music, Engineering, History, Geography, Modern and Medieval Languages, Medicine, Computer Science, Maths, English and more.

We are so proud of all the students involved who really have worked incredibly hard and dedicated huge amounts of time and effort to the gruelling application process.

Greenhead College supports any student aspiring to apply to Oxbridge Universities through its dedicated Oxbridge Support Enrichment Programme. This comprises of masterclasses, interview workshops, presentations by admissions tutors, residential visits, and practice admissions tests.

Imaad Nisar, who came to Greenhead College from Royds Hall Academy and has been offered a place to study Computer Science at Cambridge University said: “Anyone who has thought about applying to Oxbridge should just do it. You might have something or learn something about yourself which you never even realised.”

Richard Pember, Oxbridge Coordinator at Greenhead College said: “We’re incredibly proud of these students. Their education was undoubtedly disrupted during GCSEs, and so to be completing their A Levels, having secured an offer from Cambridge or Oxford, is an incredible achievement.”

Congratulations to the following students:

Alex Franklin Cambridge Engineering

Amaad Ali Cambridge Natural Sciences (Biological)

Charley Tordoff Cambridge Geography

Ella Jancovich Cambridge History

Eric Qiao Cambridge Natural Sciences

Finn Wilson-Leach Oxford Chemistry

Freddie Sugarman Oxford Music

Helen Rawson Oxford Biochemistry

Imaad Nisar Cambridge Computer Science

Isla Barrett Cambridge Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS)

Katie Flook Cambridge Classics

Libby James Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages

Louis Norcup Cambridge French and Spanish

Maddy Wood Cambridge English

Matt Vale Oxford Mathematics

Peter Ashley Oxford Computer Science

Sas Thiyagesh Oxford Medicine

Steven Chen Cambridge Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology

Xena Pape Cambridge Biological Natural Sciences

Yoyo Xia Cambridge Medicine

Awards and Reunion: Celebrating our Class of 2022

Posted on January 9, 2023January 9, 2023 by Emily Thompson

On Thursday 5th January, we welcomed our Class of 2022 back for an Awards Evening and Reunion at the John Smith’s Stadium.

The event was an opportunity for our Class of 2022 to reunite with their peers and teachers whilst celebrating their remarkable achievements.

Their results, released in summer 2022, were simply outstanding. The overall A Level pass rate was 99.3% (national average was 98.4%), with 88.0% of all grades at A*-C and 71.9% at A*-B, almost 10% higher than the national average of 62.2%. 1174 students gained A level passes in 3 or more subjects, with 44 students gaining A*/A in 4 or more subjects, and 295 gaining A*/A in 3 subjects.

Guests were greeted to a performance by our recent Battle of the Bands winner ‘Third Floor Soul’, then Chair of Governors, Richard Armstrong opened the ceremony. Principal of the College, Simon Lett followed with a round-up of the 2021/22 college year showcasing the impressive talent amongst the year group, and their collective efforts including raising over £2000 for Young Minds.

The special guest of the evening and presenter of the awards was Mary Ahern, former Greenhead College student, CEO of ALPS and daughter of former Principal Kevin Conway. Mary delivered an enlightening presentation about her journey from Greenhead College to CEO of ALPS, including her top tips to our Class of 2022. She spoke of her late father Kevin Conway and his transformative work as Principal and founder of ALPS.

Awards were then handed out for each individual subject plus a handful of special recognition and achievement awards.

The evening concluded with another performance from ‘Third Floor Soul’.

We would like to thank all the individuals and organisations who sponsored a prize for the event.

Gallery

Chemistry Department win prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Education Prize

Posted on November 22, 2022November 22, 2022 by Emily Thompson

Greenhead College Chemistry Department has been named the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Team Prize for Excellence in Secondary and Further Education.

Nominated by their peers, the team was chosen by the RSC’s prestigious panel of judges as one of the most inspirational, innovative and dedicated people in education.

The team has now become a winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Team Prize for Excellence in Secondary and Further Education, for enhancing and enriching the chemistry learning of a huge and diverse group of students by offering a high quality and broad chemistry education and through effective outreach.

Ruth Farnell, Head of Chemistry at Greenhead College said:

“Working with young people can be incredibly rewarding. However, the extent of the work that teams like ours put into ensuring that every student receives not only an outstanding education but also so much more in the way of enthusiasm for and opportunities in chemistry isn’t often recognised. Receiving an accolade like this where our efforts are publicly acknowledged, valued and celebrated means so much to everyone in the team.”

The chemistry team at Greenhead College use their skill, expertise and passion to bring chemistry to life for the almost 1000 students studying in the department. The team have developed an interesting and varied scheme of work that is enhanced and enriched by work outside the classroom.

Students in the department are given opportunities to work with local primary schools to share their love and passion for chemistry with Year 6 children whose enthusiasm for putting on a lab coat and using a Bunsen Burner is infectious. If the students are considering a future in chemistry or research, then there is also the chance to work alongside researchers at the University of Huddersfield to conduct a project as part of our Real World Chemistry enrichment, the results of this work are presented both in the college and at the University using PhD style poster presentations.

The team supports all learners to make the most of their chemistry education whilst at the college. Additional support comes in many forms such as peer mentoring, 11 staffed support sessions a week, a dedicated classroom where students can work quietly in their free time, student study groups and video tutorials covering the entire course. Enhancement in the form of the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, RSC Schools’ analyst competition, RSC Chemistry Olympiad, Cambridge HE+ scheme, Alumni interactions, University outreach talks and trips to Huddersfield University and a residential to the Chemistry department at Oxford all enrich the chemistry curriculum.

Dr Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said:

“It’s of vital importance that we recognise the crucial role that educators play in the advancement of the sciences. And that we commend their ability to inspire and nurture the next generation of bright young minds, so that they can go on to make new discoveries and innovations.

“Society faces many challenges, and educators give us the tools we need to advance our understanding of the world around us and solve many of the problems we encounter. The team’s work demonstrates an outstanding commitment to chemistry education, and it is our honour to celebrate their considerable contribution.”

Gill Reid, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said:

“For many of us as chemists our teachers were our inspiration – their influence in driving the next generation of amazing scientists cannot be underestimated. That’s why I’m so proud of the winners of the Education Horizon Prizes, each of whom demonstrates an infectious passion for learning that sparks young minds to do amazing things.

“This year’s winners set exemplary examples of the impact this can make; it’s no exaggeration to say their successes will be felt for generations to come ”

The Excellence in Education Prizes celebrate inspirational, innovative, and dedicated people working in primary, secondary, further education and higher education – including teachers, technicians and more. These prizes recognise a wide range of skills – from curriculum design to effective teaching, and from personal development to working culture. This category includes specific prizes for teams and for those in the early stages of their career.

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s prizes have recognised excellence in the chemical sciences for more than 150 years. In 2019, the organisation announced the biggest overhaul of this portfolio in its history, designed to better reflect modern scientific work and culture.

Results Day 2022 – Greenhead College leads the way!

Posted on August 18, 2022August 18, 2022 by Emily Thompson

Greenhead College has once again achieved incredible A Level results, confirming its status as the No.1 A level College in Yorkshire.

The overall A Level pass rate was 99.3% (national average was 98.4%), with 88.0% of all grades at A*-C and 71.9% at A*-B, almost 10% higher than the national average of 62.2%. 1174 students gained A level passes in 3 or more subjects, with 44 students gaining A*/A in 4 or more subjects, and 295 gaining A*/A in 3 subjects.

College Principal Simon Lett said:

“This summer’s exams were the first external assessments taken by this year group, as they were unable to sit their GCSEs in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“These fantastic results are a testament to our students’ resilience and high aspirations in incredibly challenging circumstances. They are all exceptional, inspiring, and talented young people and I couldn’t be prouder of them and our dedicated and hardworking staff.”

	A*-E Greenhead %	A*-E National %	A*-B Greenhead %	A*-B National %
2022	99.3	98.4	71.9	62.2
2021 (TAGS)	99.8	99.5	71.8	69.8
2020 (CAGS)	99.8	99.7	70.8	65.4
2019	98.9	97.5	62.6	51.1

Greenhead College was inspected by Ofsted in March 2022 and was rated ‘Outstanding’ in all areas, with no weaknesses identified.