Garforth Academy

History

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

By 1992, the school was known as Garforth Community College.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:

• In November 2010, the school became Garforth Academy under the Academies Act 2010, becoming a part of the Delta Academies Trust.

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.

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.

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'.

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.

Notable alumni

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

References

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20021221134503/http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/artsmark/round2.htm "Round 2 Artsmark Awards"]. [[Arts Council England. Arts Council]] (web archive). Retrieved 4 July 2022
3. (8 Jun 2000). "The 300 new Beacon Schools". The Guardian.
4. (1 June 2009). "Paul Edwards".
5. "Representatives on Outside Bodies".
6. "Barbara Castle MP, opening Garforth Comprehensive School".
7. {{cite letter. Frank. Norris. (16 February 2012). link
8. "Delta Academies Trust".
9. (12 March 2011). "Music bridges gap between cultures in Leeds and Durban". BBC Leeds.
10. (15 November 2010). "Garforth's new arts group launched". BBC Leeds.
11. {{ISBN. 978-0-09-947659-7
12. {{London Gazette. (31 December 2008)
13. (23 November 2018). "Golden girl Gabby shuttles back to school". Yorkshire Evening Post.
14. "Huddersfield Town AFC Player Profiles: William Boyle". Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
15. (5 May 2011). "Welsh U-17's call-up for Huddersfield Town starlet and John Charles’ grandson Jake Charles". Yorkshire Live.
16. (19 November 2021). "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".
17. "Gary Keedy Profile – Cricket Player England | Stats, Records, Video".
18. [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/20193.html Cricinfo – Players and Officials] – Chris Silverwood
19. (30 October 2015). "Badminton champion Jenny Wallwork launches foundation to fight mental health illness".
20. (15 March 2012). "‘My dad doesn’t think playing a guitar is a sensible job and he’s probably right’". The Yorkshire Post.