By Andy Hirst

Greenhead College in Huddersfield will be 50 years old this year and wants to mark it in a nostalgic way.

The college is appealing for former students to send it photos and memories of their time at the college and will also profile some of the people who have studied or worked there.

It was Huddersfield Girls High School until it became Greenhead College in 1973.

The college says: “There have been so many happy memories created over the past 50 years for thousands of people.

“To celebrate turning 50 we will be featuring alumni from over the decades and celebrating our students and staff from 1973 to 2023 who have all made Greenhead College exceptional.

“We’d love to hear from you. If you attended or worked at Greenhead College and have your own photos and memories to share or would like to be featured as part of our Alumni Campaign then please email alumni@greenhead.ac.uk.”

This is just the start as the college is setting up a special page on its website and will also be sharing the information on social media.

The college adds: “We will be delving deep into the archives and sharing our favourite memories and highlights from the past 50 years.”

Current principal Simon Lett, pictured above with the college’s first principal Graham Cooksey, said: “Over the course of 50 years many thousands of young people have had the opportunity to experience high quality teaching and pastoral support in Greenhead’s inclusive, nurturing academic environment.

“These people have gone on to become experts in their field. Every year we cultivate the scientists, artists, actors, politicians, sports people, lawyers, business entrepreneurs and teachers of tomorrow.  

“This is a legacy of success which has put Huddersfield on the education map, through the hard work and dedication of hundreds of our amazing teachers and support staff.” 

The college has had just five principals over the last 50 years. They are:

Graham Cooksey – 1973-1987

Kevin Conway – 1987-2002

Martin Rostron – 2002-2013

Anton McGrath – 2013-2016

Simon Lett – 2016 – present

Going way back in time there was a hall on the site called Greenhead Hall owned by former Mayor of Huddersfield John Fligg, who died in 1899.

It was demolished and replaced by Huddersfield Municipal High School for Girls which cost £11,000 to build and opened in January 1909 with 286 pupils.

  • Andy Hirst runs his own freelance journalism, website content and blogging agency AH! PR www.ah-pr.com and can be contacted on Andy@ah-pr.com.