Counthill School formerly a high-achieving Grammar School, was a mixed gender secondary school for 11- to 16-year-olds in the Moorside area of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. The school had approximately 900 pupils on roll and its motto was ''Animo Atque Fide''. Although sometimes mistakenly thought to be the highest secondary school above sea level in the country, the site sits between 280 and 285 metres, which is lower than others such as Buxton Community School at 320 metres.

History

Counthill Grammar School was planned in the 1930s but construction was delayed by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and it opened in September 1951. In 1966 it accepted its first

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

intake.The Story of Education in Oldham
Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 21 January 2015 Problems with the school were later identified and in November 2004 it was placed in

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...

. A year later it was rated as satisfactory, but Oldham Borough Council decided to reshape secondary schooling under the UK government's Building Schools for the Future project. Counthill, along with four other failing schools at the time ( Breeze Hill, Kaskenmoor, Grange, South Chadderton) were earmarked for closure to form two new Academies. It closed at the end of July 2010 as part of the New Oldham Academies Project, merging with Breezehill School to form Waterhead Academy. Initially the school site was used as the Moorside campus of the new academy; however, after Waterhead relocated its main campus to a third site in November 2012, the old Counthill site is now the sports campus of the academy.

Teaching staff

David J. Clifford resigned as head teacher in March 2005 after

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

criticised him as lacking a clear strategic vision for improving his pupils' quality of education. Margaret Ryan, who got the school out of special measures, after replacing Clifford, retired from her post on 12 September 2008. David Lack was appointed headteacher in 2008 and has a record for transforming struggling school. He left when the school merged.

Academics

Although the school did require Special Measures in 2004 on 23 November 2006 the special measures tag was removed. GCSE exam results improved from 27% in 2004 to 51% passes at A-C in 2007.

Notable alumni

Ian Kershaw Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's foremost experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is ...

, historianIan Kershaw: My inspiration at ''The Guardian'' Education
Retrieved 21 January 2015 *

Anne Kirkbride Anne Kirkbride (21 June 1954 – 19 January 2015) was an English actress, best known for her long-running role as Deirdre Barlow in the ITV soap ''Coronation Street'', which she played for 42 years from 1972 to 2014. For this role, she posthu ...

, actor in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' (

Deirdre Barlow Deirdre Barlow (also Hunt, Langton and Rachid) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Anne Kirkbride. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 November 1972. Her ...

)Anne Kirkbride Obituary in ''The Guardian''
Retrieved 20 January 2015 * Paul Sculthorpe, rugby league playerSaddlewoth School Honours
Retrieved 21 January 2015 * Andrew Shore, operatic baritone

References

External links

*http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4127838.stm *http://www.oldhamadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/1045594_three_guest_pupils_end_up_in_hospital {{Schools in Oldham Educational institutions established in 1951 Defunct schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham 1951 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in England Schools in Oldham