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Batley Grammar School was founded in 1612 by the Rev. William Lee. The original school building was erected close to the Parish Church of Batley, and the duties of the Master were...
‘to teach and instruct youth and children… and to make such as be capable fit for the university’
which has remained an important aim of the school since its foundation. |
Joseph Priestley
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Over the years the school has nurtured and inspired a great many pupils who have made their mark in industry, commerce, the sciences, education and other important spheres. For example,: Joseph Priestley, Sir Titus Salt, Sir Owen Richardson and, more recently Richard Reed of Innocent Smoothies and Lawrence Tomlinson of Ginetta Cars. Some would attribute the successes of these and others to the school's allegiance to hard work and scholarship. |
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The school moved to its present site in 1878, and for the next hundred years was reliant on income from the West Riding County Council, and then Kirklees Council. The school became independent in 1978, and joined the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) several years later. In 1988 girls were admitted for the first time into the Sixth Form, and the school became fully co-educational in 1996. |
In 2000 Priestley House, our Primary Phase, was opened, and children are now admitted from the age of Four. In 2011 Batley Grammar School took the exciting step of becoming a Free School, the first Free School in Yorkshire.
