Part 2
George Locke, the first Headmaster of Batley Business & Enterprise College was a forward thinker and firmly believed that education should not just be limited to the classroom. Under his guidance, school camps, visits abroad and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme were introduced. However, his greatest contribution in the area of extra curricular activities was the provision of a Country Activities Centre at Stainforth in the Yorkshire Dales. On Sunday July 12th 1964 the official opening of the building, know to hundreds of Batley lads simply as ‘The Hut’, took place.
The building was in-fact a redundant cricket pavilion from White Lee, which was dismantled, taken to the school, rebuilt and fitted out before once again being dismantled and taken to the site at Little Stainforth.
Over the years the building was modernised. The improvement that had the greatest impact, at least as far as the boys were concerned, was the introduction of flushing toilets. Modern sanitation did away with the need to carry full chemical toilets across the field to the farmer’s slurry pit.
In 1976, the then Headmaster, Mr. W. O’Neil, applied for planning permission to extend the centre by adding an extra dormitory and shower block. In response to the application the Yorkshire Dales National Park Planning Committee granted permission providing the whole building was demolished and reconstructed in a material more suited to it’s natural surroundings.
The school refused to take the situation lying down and set about the mammoth task of raising the £12,000 necessary to start the rebuild of the Centre. The money was raised by the pupils and Parent-Teacher Association. In 1976, the old building was demolished and, ironically, found a new life as a tractor shed for our farmer landlord.
Construction work was carried out at weekends, and during the school holidays by pupils, staff, parents and old boys, with local firms helping by providing raw materials.
The efforts were all worthwhile as the building was entered for the Kirklees Schools’ Silver Jubilee Challenge Award and was successful in winning first prize in the ‘Man Made Environment’ section of the scheme.
Since being rebuilt the building has been host to school camps, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, revision weekends, Biology and Geography fieldtrips and countless other activities that have been of benefit, not only to the pupils of Batley Business & Enterprise College, but also to other outside groups that have made use of the facility.
by D. A. Watson