History
Each term we will bring you a new section about the schools history. Part 1 tells us about the opening of the school and its progression during the early years. For Part 1 CLICK HERE.
Part 2 is about the School Activities Centre, or 'The Hut' as it's known to the boys. PART 2
Batley Business & Enterprise College has been successful in achieving the above status from the Department for Education and Skills, which means that for the next two years it has been awarded an extra £1/3 million to work within the community. This will enable the school to significantly expand its Adult Education Provision, work more closely with its secondary and primary school partners as well as setting up new initiatives with local community groups and associations.
A new Community Centre at the school is being developed, and other activities are planned at Howden Clough Girls’ High School and Sixth Form Centre and some local primary schools so that the benefits of this additional funding can be shared across the community.
The school benefited last year from Neighbour Renewal Funding and a grant of £20,000 from Barclays Bank to develop a local Heritage Library. This money was seen to have been spent in developing adult and community education at the school, and therefore put the school in a strong position to gain this additional funding. New groups are already using the school (e.g. Phoenix Theatre, Children with Disabilities Team) outside of school hours as part of the Bid, with many more to follow.
Despite being the only boys school in the country to be given this status, it is keen to provide a base to better serve all sections of the community across Birstall and Batley, with, for example, some health courses being run at Howden Clough School, and a Majorettes club being supported from Fieldhead Primary School.
The Full Service funding will enable the school to offer more health and social service opportunities, more adult education courses, and act as a drop-in/advice centre. New facilities are being developed during the summer, so that the school will have a purpose built Centre ready by Christmas. This is in addition to the rebuilding programme that is currently being undertaken at the school. The school is also waiting to hear if it has been successful in acquiring Business and Enterprise Status. If so, this will also enable many new Business courses involving, ICT, video conferencing, E-commerce, and the setting up and running a small business, to be run through the Centre.