Thornhill Secondary School, as it was initially named, was officially opened on its present site on the 25th November 1964. At this time, it was part of the County Borough of Dewsbury Education Committee. Kirklees Council did not exist in those days. The school’s former premises on Edge Lane became the local Junior and Infant School, which remains the case today.
Academy staff and students commemorated Remembrance Day with various special activities to mark the occasion.
We were delighted to welcome SSGT (Staff Sargeant) Joshua Peel to the Academy, where he delivered a series of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workshops to our students. In Years 7-9, students taking part were put forward by their Science, Technology, and Maths teachers, whilst students from Years 10 and 11 were given the opportunity to put themselves forward, having expressed an interest in a STEM career in the future.
We are thrilled to announce that the Academy has been awarded the bronze level accreditation in the Heart of the Community scheme, launched by Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity. This accreditation recognises our commitment to providing life-saving CPR skills and ensuring the availability of defibrillators to ensure the safety of our students and the wider community in the event of a cardiac arrest.
In a special training event led by staff and volunteers from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Academy students learnt how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more commonly known as CPR.
Students in Year 11 were put through their paces in mock interviews as part of the Academy's extensive careers programme. The Academy provides mock interviews to prepare students to take part for real when they apply for places at college.
We were delighted to welcome Mark Powell from Bletchley Park to the Academy, where he ran a series of workshops for students organised by the Maths department.
We are delighted to introduce you to Thornhill Community Academy's Head Students for the 2024-25 academic year.
We are extremely impressed by the tremendous success of our students at Thornhill Community Academy in the summer GCSE examinations. Despite challenges to their secondary education, where students have faced lockdowns and periods of remote learning, they have performed superbly. Individual students have made huge progress, and the whole year group have improved headline figures again. The percentage of students achieving a standard pass between grades 4 and 9 in English and Maths has risen to 63% this year, and those achieving a good pass (grade 5) in both subjects has risen to 44% for 2024 leavers.
Year 10 students gained valuable insight into the working world by participating in a comprehensive work experience programme during a week off from their regular lessons. The initiative aimed to provide students with an understanding of various career options and equip them with essential skills for the future.
Led by staff from the English department, Academy students were given the opportunity to visit Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. The visit was arranged to enrich their classroom studies, as all students in years 7 to 9 have studied a Shakespeare play during the past academic year.
The school band was pleased to represent the Academy when they performed at the 'Sounds like Teen Spirit' festival, which took place in Phipps' Hall at the Richard Steinitz building, University of Huddersfield.
