What a fantastic afternoon we had celebrating the official opening of our brand-new cricket nets in the lower Arena! The ceremony was filled with energy, community spirit and, of course, some wonderful cricket being played.

This special project has been made possible thanks to the generosity of our alumni David and James, the sponsorship of The Big 6 and the support of the Crossley & Porter Foundation. We are so grateful to the whole Crossley Heath family for making this dream a reality.

The nets are not only a nod to our proud history – dating back to the first nets built by students in 1910 – but also an exciting investment in the future of cricket at our school. Here’s to many sixes, wickets, and unforgettable matches to come!

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Barry Seal, a former student of Heath Grammar School.

Barry went on from Heath to achieve so much in his life. He served as a Labour MEP for Yorkshire West for 20 years, during which time he chaired the European Parliament’s Economic & Monetary Committee and led the Labour group of MEPs. He later continued his public service through senior roles in the NHS, including as Chair of Kirklees Primary Care Trust and Bradford District Care Trust.

Among many other achievements, Barry was instrumental in bringing the IMAX cinema to Bradford (the first in the UK), a place that has become a much-loved destination and part of the city’s cultural identity.

We’re proud to celebrate his achievements on our heritage boards here at Crossley Heath, pictured below.

Barry leaves behind a lasting legacy. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and we’d love to hear any memories or stories you may have of him from his Heath days or beyond.

Our Year 12 students had a fantastic day at Go Ape, Temple Newsam! They tackled everything from zip wires and climbing walls to wobbly bridges and a challenging high ropes course showing real courage and teamwork throughout.

The fun didn’t stop there… the afternoon brought a brilliant team-building challenge with quizzes, hula hoop contests, and even a moo-ing competition!

It was an excellent day of bonding, laughter, and adventure – and our students were a real credit to the school.

We’re so proud of our former Head Boy, Dr. Abhishek Subramaniam, who has just begun his Foundation Year 1 placement as a doctor at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary – the very same place that first inspired his dream of medicine when he was just 14.

After a National Takeover Day shadowing then-CEO Owen Williams, Abhi went on to study medicine at the University of Plymouth. Now, ten years later, he’s come home to Yorkshire to give back to the community that shaped him.

Work opportunities like Abhi’s when he was 14 show just how important seeing the world of work is in shaping future careers – we’re so grateful to our community partners who help provide opportunities like this for our students every year.

We couldn’t be prouder – congratulations Abhi, you are a true inspiration to our students and community!

We’re thrilled to celebrate Jim Farrell, a proud Heath Grammar School alumnus, who has recently earned his first international sporting cap representing England in clay trap shooting.

Jim competed at the Home International in Omagh, Northern Ireland, where teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland battled it out. We’re delighted to share that England came out as overall winners!

This is an incredible achievement and it leaves us with a fun question:

Could Jim be our oldest alumnus to earn his very first international sporting cap?

A huge congratulations to Jim on his fantastic success, what an inspiration to our current students and community!

Yesterday we had the great pleasure of welcoming Halifax sporting legend Hannah Cockroft CBE, PLY, DL multiple World and Paralympic Champion, along with the family and friends of former student Sue Rumbold MBE (Class of 1982, née Lord), back to school for a very special occasion.

Together, we unveiled the first display in our new series celebrating inspirational female alumni on the North Staircase.

Our first honouree is Sue Rumbold, who sadly passed away in December after a short battle with MND. Sue was awarded an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours List this year for her tireless work improving the lives of children. Most notably, as the Responsible Officer for Child Friendly Leeds, Sue championed the vision of making Leeds the best city for children to grow up in – a vision she worked passionately to bring to life every single day.

Please check out the image of the display to read more about the wonderful things Sue achieved.

We are so proud to celebrate Sue’s incredible legacy, and we can’t wait to continue decorating our staircase with the stories of the wonderful women who have walked our halls, inspiring our current students to greatness.

If you would like to nominate a future candidate for the staircase, please do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. Achievements can be in any industry or field – they don’t have to come with fame, awards or medals. We want to showcase all the inspirational women in our community who can inspire the next generation.