| Almondbury
is a school of 850 pupils, situated on the eastern edge of Huddersfield.
Once
upon a time the village of Almondbury was bigger and more important
than Huddersfield. People
now visit Almondbury to climb up Castle Hill which dominates the
landscape for miles around, providing excellent views. The Brigantes
had a hillfort here from which they could occasionally annoy the
Romans, there was a castle here in medieval times and now there
is a pub and the tower, built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond
Jubilee.
Well,
Almondbury has certainly changed since the days of the Brigantes
and now its High School has been judged to be a focal point for
its surrounding community. OFSTED inspectors visiting the school
have said: "Pupils take seriously the school's motto 'Together
We Achieve' and most make positive contributions to the life of
the school and the wider community."
For
the last 12 years students from Turnshaws School in Kirkburton,
the focus of the BBC Voices venture in West Yorkshire, have been
going in and out of Almondbury High School on a very regular basis.
Michael
Nolan is Headteacher at Almondbury. He says: "I believe that
our link with Turnshaws has been enormously beneficial to our children.
Every Friday the Turnshaws children arrive in our school to work,
eat and socialise with us. I would like to think that the Turnshaws
children get something from being with us for the day."
"This
has given our students the opportunities to be aware of and care
for others. These
opportunities are vital in the life of a secondary schools as our
children are growing and sorting out their role in the world."
Last
year pupils Tracey Bancroft and Kelly Bartholemew from year 9 were
nominated for a Gold Community Award in recognition of time and
effort spent helping out with activities during these visits.
The
pupils at Almondbury will be offering their expertise to the Voices
initiative to help make the new relationship between Shelley High
and Turnshaws a success.
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