Hanson Academy (formerly Hanson Grammar School and then Hanson School) is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and

sixth-form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare ...

located in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England.

Admissions

Hanson Academy is situated between

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

and Five Lane Ends.

History

Grammar school

The Hanson Grammar School was designed by Charles Henry Hargreaves and opened on Byron Street, near Barkerend Road, in 1897. The boys' and girls' schools were next door to each other. In 1967 the girls' school had moved to a new building on ''Sutton Avenue''. In the early 1970s, although retaining the name of a grammar school, the intake was comprehensive. The girls' school had around 500 girls, with 80 in the sixth-form. The boys' school had around 550 boys with 120 in the sixth-form.

Comprehensive

It became the co-educational Hanson School in 1972, situated at the ''Sutton Avenue'' site. In the 1980s, the ''Sutton Avenue'' site was known as Hanson Upper School. In July 2011, the school moved to a different building within the same Sutton Avenue grounds. Following an Ofsted inspection in 2010, the secondary school was placed in special measures. Derek Needham, the then acting head teacher, commented by saying: "I do not believe Hanson School is a bad school, the Ofsted inspectors didn't look at all aspects of the school, they just focused on the school's many problems rather than its little achievements". In 2014 Hanson School was in the media because of the high number of students, more than 200, sent home for not adhering to the uniform policy. In January 2018 the school came out of special measures, and is currently graded by Ofsted as "Requires Improvement".

Academy

Previously a

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the school governor, governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in Community school (England and Wales), community schools. Foundation schools ...

administered by

Bradford City Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Bradford has had an elected council since 1847, which has been reformed on several occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metr ...

, Hanson School converted to academy status in July 2022 and was renamed Hanson Academy. The school is now sponsored by the

Delta Academies Trust Delta Academies Trust (formerly Schools Partnership Trust Academies) is a multi-academy trust, operating 57 schools. As an academy trust, it is an exempt charity regulated by the Department for Education. Its current CEO is Sir Paul Tarn. A cri ...

Head teachers

*Sam Sheedy (Principal) (2023-Present) *David Hewitt (Associate Executive Principal) (2022-Present) *Richard Woods (2016–2022) *Elizabeth Churton (2012–2015) *Tim Brookes (2008–2010) *Susan Horsley (2003-2008) *Maureen Jones *Lily Peters

Campus

Hanson has four floors. There is a Sixth Form centre. There is a footballing centre, home to "Goals", which has 15+ five aside pitches and 1 full-size football pitch. A new school building was completed in 2011. The building of Pulse Gym was also completed in 2010; it has a 65-station gym, interactive centre, sports hall and two dance studios. The gym is for pupil use as well as for members of the public.

Academic performance

65% of Hanson students achieved 5 or more A*s to Cs in 2010. In BTEC, Hanson was in the UK's top 20.

Notable former pupils

* Bad Boy Chiller Crew,

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

group *

Tom Cleverley Thomas William Cleverley (born 12 August 1989) is an English professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who played as a midfielder. Cleverly is currently the head coach of club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Ply ...

, footballer *

Lewis Emanuel Lewis James Emanuel (born 4 October 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a left back or as a left midfield. He played for Bradford City, Luton Town and Brentford. He retired in 2010 having played more than 200 games. Born in ...

, footballer *

Steven Wells Steven Wells (10 May 1960 – 24 June 2009) was a British journalist, author, comedian and punk poet born in Swindon, Wiltshire. He was best known for ranting poetry and his provocative, unapologetic music journalism. In June 2006, he wrote in ...

, journalist and former writer for Radio 4's 1990s ''

On the Hour ''On the Hour'' was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992. Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring ...

'' and BBC's ''

The Day Today ''The Day Today'' is a British comedy television show that parodies television news and current affairs programmes, broadcast from 19 January to 23 February 1994 on BBC2. It was created by Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and is an adap ...

Hanson Boys' Grammar School

* Sir

Edward Victor Appleton Sir Edward Victor Appleton (6 September 1892 – 21 April 1965) was an English atmospheric physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1947 "for his investigations of the physics of the upper atmosphere especially for the discovery ...

FRS, Vice-Chancellor from 1949 to 1965 of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, received the 1947

Nobel Prize for Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prize, Nobel Prizes establi ...

for investigations into the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

, the

Kennelly–Heaviside layer The Heaviside layer, sometimes called the Kennelly–Heaviside layer, named after Arthur E. Kennelly and Oliver Heaviside, is a layer of ionised gas occurring roughly between above the ground — one of several layers in the Earth's ion ...

and the

F region The F region of the ionosphere is home to the F layer of ionization, also called the Appleton–Barnett layer, after the English physicist Edward Appleton and New Zealand physicist and meteorologist Miles Barnett. As with other ionospheric secto ...

(Appleton layer) that reflect lower frequency radio waves, and became

Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy The Jacksonian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is one of the senior chairs in natural philosophy, Natural and Experimental philosophy at University of Cambridge, Cambridge University. It was founded in 1782 by a bequest from the Reverend Ri ...

from 1936 to 1939 at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

David Bairstow David Leslie Bairstow (1 September 1951 – 5 January 1998) was an English cricketer, who played for Yorkshire and England as a wicket-keeper. He also played football for his hometown club Bradford City. He is the father of England internation ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

cricketer (

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

), father of England batsman (also a wicket-keeper)

Jonny Bairstow Jonathan Marc Bairstow (born 26 September 1989) is an English cricketer who played internationally for England cricket team, England in all formats as a right-handed wicket-keeper-batter. In domestic cricket, he has played for Yorkshire County C ...

* Clarence Barton, Labour MP from 1945 to 1950 for Wembley South * Vic Feather, Baron Feather,

General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress The General Secretary of the TUC is the chief permanent officer of the Trades Union Congress, and a major figurehead in the trade union movement in the United Kingdom. The Secretary is responsible for the effective operation of the TUC and for lead ...

(TUC) from 1969 to 1973, and President from 1973 to 1974 of the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...

, film and TV actor, nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the 1978

50th Academy Awards The 50th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1977 and took place on April 3, 1978, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS ...

, and known for the 1985 ''

Letter to Brezhnev ''Letter to Brezhnev'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy film about working-class life in Liverpool, written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It stars Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Alfred Molina, Peter Firth and Tracy Marshak-Nas ...

'' * Sir William Hadwick, Chief General Manager from 1945 to 1951 of the

National Provincial Bank National Provincial Bank was a retail bank which operated in England and Wales. It was created in 1833 as National Provincial Bank of England, and expanded largely by taking over a number of other banks. Following the transformative acquisitio ...

* Sir Trevor Holdsworth CVO, chairman from 1980 to 1988 of

GKN GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It was a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 ...

, Chancellor from 1992 to 1997 of the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

* Wilfrid Lawson, actor *

Tony McHale Tony McHale (born Anthony John Wright, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire) is a British actor, screenwriter, writer, television director, director and producer, who is known for starring in ''Coronation Street'' and also known as a "stooge" to J ...

, co-created (with

Mal Young Mal Young (born 26 January 1957) is a British television producer, screenwriter and executive producer. Career Mersey TV Young began his career in graphic design. At age 27, he began working in television on the Channel 4 soap opera '' Broo ...

) ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' *

Andrew Mawson, Baron Mawson Andrew Mawson, Baron Mawson, (born 8 November 1954) is an English social entrepreneur. Early life Andrew Mawson was brought up in Bradford, Yorkshire. He trained for Christian ministry at the Northern Baptist College in Manchester under Princ ...

OBE, known for the

Bromley by Bow Centre The Bromley by Bow Centre is a community centre in Bromley-by-Bow, in London. It was founded by Andrew Mawson in 1984 alongside community members such as Chilean artist Santiago Bell, with the aim of transforming the local community. Over the y ...

* Rabbi Walter Rothschild, leader of the Berlin Reform and Liberal Jewish Communities, since 1998 and the Rabbi of the Bradford Synagogue and the Leeds Sinai Synagogue from 1984 until 1995. *

Leslie Sands Leslie Sands (19 May 1921 – 9 May 2001) was a British actor and writer of TV and film. Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, Leslie Sands usually specialised in dour types in authority, often policemen. He was married to Pauline Williams (1950 – ...

, actor of the 1960s often playing dour policemen, who would consequently later appear in ''Juliet Bravo'' *

John Sewel, Baron Sewel John Buttifant Sewel, Baron Sewel, (; born 15 January 1946), is a British politician, life peer, and former academic. He served as Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords, its deputy speaker. He is also a former senior vice principal o ...

CBE, leader of Aberdeen Council from 1977 to 1980, and President from 1982 to 1984 of the

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is the national association of Scottish councils and acts as an employers' association for its 32 member authorities. History Formed in 1975, COSLA exists to promote and protect the int ...

* Edward Spurr, described as ''Bradford's Forgotten Inventor''

Hanson Girls' Grammar School

Christa Ackroyd Christa Marion Ackroyd is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known as a former presenter for the regional TV news programmes ''Calendar'' (for ITV Yorkshire) and ''BBC Look North''. Early life Ackroyd, whose father was a policeman, at ...

, former presenter of ''

Look North ''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England: * ''BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria), BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region * ''BBC Look North (Y ...

'' (at the comprehensive from 1972) * Dame

Margaret Eaton, Baroness Eaton Ellen Margaret Eaton, Baroness Eaton, DBE, DL (born 1 June 1942, Bradford, England) has been a Conservative Party life peer in the British House of Lords since 2010. She was a Councillor with Bradford Metropolitan Borough Council from 198 ...

OBE, politician * Stephanie Turner, actress, notably for Insp Jean Darblay from 1980 to 1982 in ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...

References

External links

Hanson official website

''Newsnight'' in 2007

WikiMapia

EduBase
{{authority control Academies in the City of Bradford Schools in Bradford Educational institutions established in 1897 1897 establishments in England Secondary schools in the City of Bradford Delta schools