Local Schools
This section is intended to contain details about how the Baildon schools have developed. Stories about schools. Details of people who went to the schools - linked to other web sites or to a page on here about the person.
Baildon Map for Schools
Use this Google Maps link to see a map showing the locations of the schools.
School Reorganisation
Prior to 2000 Bradford had a 3 tier school system. First school. Middle school and Upper School. In 2000 Bradford Council changed this to a 2 tier system of Primary and Secondary schools. This involved significant changes that you can read about in School Reorganisation
Local School List
This should be a list of current schools using their current names
Baildon Church of England Primary School
Now at Coverdale Way, Baildon, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD17 6TE
The school has its own website here.
The Church School dates back to the 1850s when it was situated next to the parish church of St John, Hallcliffe in Baildon. In 1967 the school expanded and moved to a new building in Jenny Lane. Locally it was known as Jenny Lane School. For several years the reception class was still at the Church Hall. The playground for the Hallcliffe school was across the road from the church hall in what is now (2007) the Hallcliffe Gardens
In September 2001, under Bradford’s School Reorganisation, the school changed its status to that of Primary School and expanded to include years 5 and 6, up to 11 years old. Extensive refurbishments were carried out on the former Ladderbanks Middle School building on Coverdale Way to allow the Baildon Church of England Primary School to move in. The site at Coverdale Way is at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in extensive grounds.
Sandal Primary School
Now on West Lane in what was the building for Belmont Middle School
Sandal Primary school, prior to the reorgainisation of 2001, was a first school on Cliffe Avenue. You can read more about Cliffe Avenue here
The West Lane School was opened in Easter 1961[1]. Originally built as a Secondary school before the 3 tier system was introduced across Bradford, the building was and still is considered to be spacious for a First or Middle school. The school was renamed Belmont Middle School and continued until 1999 when Bradford reverted to a 2 tier school system. Sandal First School moved from it's former home on Cliffe Avenue to the former Belmont building and became Sandal Primary School.
Hoyle Court Primary School
Fyfe Grove
Glenaire Primary School
Thompson Lane, Baildon, Shipley BD17 7LY
Tele: 01274 582514
Headteacher: Mrs S E Naylor
Chair of Governors: G M Margetson
Salt Grammar
This school, on Higher Coach Road, following its rebuild in 2006/7, is now called Titus Salt School
The school web site can be found at here
Salt Grammar was originally built on Victoria Road, Saltaire - opposite Victoria Hall. Girls and boys were taught separately and it was Salts Girls Grammar and Salts Boys Grammar. This was all part of the village built by Sir Titus Salt. The old school building is now (2017) part of Shipley College.
In 1963 a new school was built on Higher Coach Road and called Salts Grammar School. It was designed for 720 pupils by architects Chamberlin Powell & Bon who also designed the Barbican Estate, London EC2 (Listed G II), the Garstang Building, and Roger Stevens Lecture Theatre block both of Chancellor's Court, University of Leeds.[2]
In 2002(?) it had a new 6th form building added.Confirmation needed.
The original Salt Grammar School on this Higher Coach Road site was designed to accommodate 600 students and was constructed in 1963 but it was insufficient to cope with the demands of education in the 21st century. Many of the distinct architectural features of the time had become significant structural weaknesses. Saltaire had become a World Heritage Site and the external features of the school, with later additions, was not sympathetic with this status. Though a later building was added as part of the Reorganisation the flow of students was not easy around the site and the dated infrastructure meant it was difficult to cope with the demands of more modern ICT and monitoring demands. At the time of considering the new build in 2004 the school capacity was 1450. At this time the school is under performing. It has poor facilities and a crumbling 1960s main building, which is both in poor condition and manifestly unfit for purpose. It has very limited and inadequate specialist facilities, indoor sports facilities, dining areas, student social areas, assembly spaces and post-16 study facilities. Known locally as the "Fortress".A recent OfSTED report said:- [3]
The accomodation is cramped in places; some of the classrooms are overcrowded and parts of the corridor are too narrow, there are not enough social areas and the geography of the building presents a significant challenge to the calm and swift movement of pupils between lessons.
This paints a rather bleak picture. It is taken from a document that is attempting to justify the first 3 schools in Bradford's "Building Schools for the Future". It is likely that under-funding of maintenance has brought this situation about earlier than might have happened but not by much. Under the BSF initiative the buildings will be managed by a third party which should see that maintenance is carried out and there is less of a fight between funding for education and funding for building maintenance in cash strapped Councils.
Many schools in much older properties manage to provide the facilities needed for modern teaching so what were the particular problems for Salts? The school on West Lane (built as Belmont Middle school and later becoming Sandals Primary School) was built at a similar time but is still going. Paul Marfell
The site was completely rebuilt in 2006/2007 as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative. One of the big things this initiative did was take the assets of the education system out of the control of the local authority and put them in the control of businesses (banks, construction companies and maintenance organisations). It will be interesting to see if this is good for the education of our children and its cost may not be known for a while. You can read more about this in Salt Grammar Rebuild
The other 2 schools in this first phase of BSF were Tong School and Buttershaw High School.
A bit of school history
What happened to the older schools or schools known by different names?
Tong Park School
Read more here - Tong Park School
Woodbottom School
The map shows the location but more can be read on the Woodbottom page
Cliffe Avenue
Sandal First School was on Cliffe Avenue but was moved in 2001 as part of the school reorganisation and become Sandal's Primary School, West Lane, on the site that was originally Belmont Middle School. The old school building on Cliffe Avenue was converted to apartments and what was the playground had modern town houses built on it, (2000).
Jenny Lane School
Baildon Church of England First School was originally in what is now the church hall on Hallcliffe. It had a playground opposite which is now (2006) the HHallcliffe Gardens. The school then expanded and the older children had a school on the corner of Jenny Lane which was then used locally as the name of the school. This school was demolished after the school reorganisation of 2000 and houses built on the site. The bottom part of the playing field has not been built on due to poor drainage. The school has moved to Coverdale Way which was originally Ladderbanks Middle School.
Ladderbanks Middle School
The building at the end of Coverdale Way prior to the school reorganisation of 2000 was Ladderbanks Middle School but after the move from a 3 tier system to 2 tier it became Baildon Church of England Primary School.
Ferniehurst First School
Ferniehurst First School & Nursery was opened in 1953, following the completion of the housing estate surrounding it. The school stood at the top of Cliffe Lane West, at the junction with Valley View and The Crescent on the sight of the former Ferneihurst estate. The site was significantly larger than most First School's in the area which meant the school could offer new, up to date indoor and outdoor facilities. In 1998, the Bradford school system reverted to the 2 tier system and the school became Fernihurst Primary School. However, the school closed in July 2000 as the building and faculty was not large enough to cope with an additional 2 years (classes) of students. In it's final year, there were only 80 students (including Nursery) and 7 full time teaching staff.
The typically 1950's building was demolished in 2002. There were plans to renovate it and for the Baildon Community Link (which was, at the time, housed in the old Sandal Primary School dinner hall on Cliffe Avenue), but these plans never came to fruition. There were rumours at the time of the demolition that a new housing estate was to be built on the site which sparked concerns regarding traffic and an increase in crime rates in the area by local residents, but again, these plans never materialised and the site has remained as waste land ever since. The original playground, top playing fields, gardens, drive way and main gates are all still present. (2012) You can see another photo of the school here.
In 2015 planning application 15/01549/MAF was granted for the building of 72 houses and infrastructure in two phases: Phase one (full application) to be 37no. 2 & 3 bedroom houses and Phase 2 (outline application) to be 35no. 2 & 3 bedroom houses. These houses were completed in 2018.
References
- ↑ 1964_Official_Guide_for_Baildon. Page 35.
- ↑ The Royal Institute of British Architects
- ↑ Bradford Metropolitan District Council - Building Schools for the Future - Outline Business Case - 1 Sept 2004. Stephen Jones - Head of Procurement.
