CEO Blog

• Community makes us

  Mon 15 Sep 2025
  We were delighted on Friday evening to be invited to speak at a launch event for a new book about the importance of community, history and heritage. The book captures the stories of people’s cultural heritage, the importance of family, friends and community, and outlines the hopes, dreams, ambitions and aspirations of so many individuals both for themselves and for generations to come. When there is sadly so much division across the world today, books like this are needed more than ever, so that we can celebrate difference and diversity. 

   

  The individuals whose life stories are recorded in the book, have helped to shape the communities in which they live and now call home, and their stories evidence how community makes us, and why the unity in community is key. The commonalities between these personal stories are so endearing.

   

  People talk about friendship, love, and the kindness shown to them by others, and in so many cases by strangers. The importance and significance of family and community values resonate clearly. A common theme for so many people is the importance of a good education. A great education informs our thinking, our decision making, how we understand and respect different cultures and different people, and informs the choices we make. We should all be continually learning each and every day, and a great education can never be taken away from us. The more we learn, the more we realise there is to learn. 

   

  As a great man once said; ‘Education doesn’t change the world. Education changes people and people change the world.’

  

• Welcome Back

  Mon 08 Sep 2025

  Welcome back everyone to the start of the new school year. We missed you!

   

  At the start of the new school year it is the time for new beginnings. Time to make some new friends, especially for those young people just joining our Trust family of schools, and those moving up into a new year group and maybe starting the year with a new teacher.

   

  September brings an opportunity to attend every day, and to make the most of the experiences school brings. That may be new friendships, learning new things, trying new activities and joining new clubs. School is welcoming, rewarding and provides the opportunity for you to be the best that you can be.

   

  For each and every one of us the new term is about being the best version of ourselves. We don't need to be better than anyone else, we just to be the best that we can be. This September, unlock your own unique potential! You have so much to offer, so much to give and we are thrilled that you are here in the Batley community. 

   

  Batley=Brilliance. This is going to be a great year!

  

• Batley Brilliance

  Mon 14 Jul 2025

  In the last CEO blog of the year we have SO many truly amazing achievements to celebrate this year. Batley=Brilliance.

   

  Last week we held our inaugural Book Quiz - masterminded by two inspiring learners from Field Lane School. The exam hall at Batley Girls' High School was transformed into a Harry Potter themed wonderland with; escape rooms themed to each of the houses, a potion making station, its very own platform 9 3/4 and sorting hat, as well as real-life owls for learners (and colleagues!) to hold, under supervision of course. 

   

  The quiz itself consisted of three rounds of questions, each round focusing on four books from the 12 book reading list. Books included; The Wizards of Once, The Light Hunters, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Wild Robot. There were winners after each round (Park Road won the first round, Field Lane won the second round and UBHS won the final round) with each team member being rewarded with a Harry Potter bookmark and quill pen. The overall winner was Lydgate, with UBHS coming a very close second (just two points in it!), both teams received medals and Lydgate took home the trophy this year and will return it for next year’s quiz, as this will now become an annual event, which is fantastic. Each team who managed to escape from all of the rooms (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff) without succumbing to the deadly dementors was entered into a prize draw.

   

  This event was just one of many opportunities to showcase how talented and creative learners in Batley are. This year our Trust family of schools has achieved so many tremendous successes - winners of National Awards (Young Green Briton, and Modeshift STARS for school travel and environmental sustainability); great attendance, leading the way on community engagement and last week - superb SATs results! Well done to all our colleagues, parents/carers and our community for your support throughout this year. Most crucially, well done to our learners who continue to inspire us all, each and every day! We wish you all a fun-filled, happy, safe and relaxing summer. Have a wonderful break. We will see you in September for another fantastic year in Batley. 
  Batley=Brilliance. 

  

• Keep Batley Tidy

  Mon 07 Jul 2025
  We are delighted to announce that UBHS has been crowned as Young Green Briton Champions in the national finals held last week in London. Well done Team UBHS! UBHS also holds the award for National Modeshift STARS Secondary School of the Year. All of this great work around environmental sustainability is testament to the hard work of the fantastic learners, our proactive community and the brilliant leadership shown by Lisa Woods who coordinates this area of work in the school.

   

  Lisa pulled together a team from across our Trust family of schools last Friday to support new local business, Heeleys, with their Keep Batley Tidy campaign. Learners and staff from across our Trust family had their litter pickers at the ready, put on their Community Makes Us social action high-vis vests, and set off to support Heeleys (and lots of other community like-minded people) to clean up the streets of Batley. It is crucial we all have pride in the town we live and work in. Well done Team Batley!

  

• Great Get Together: Batley Bake Off

  Mon 30 Jun 2025

  Friday was a fabulous day when one of our Trust family of schools hosted the 2025 Batley Bake Off. The Jo Cox Conference Centre at UBHS was the location for this fantastic event, which is now in its 9th year, and each year the standard of entries gets higher and higher! 

   

  The Batley Bake Off runs as part of our Great Get Together annual events where we bring our community together. Who doesn't enjoy a slice of cake and a cup of Yorkshire Tea?! We were joined by Jo's family - her fantastic dad Gordon, and her sister Kim were on the judging panel, together with Trust Central Team staff, Christina and Melanie, and Rory from the Jo Cox Foundation. 

   

  The competition entries this year were sensational and to name just a few; we had a beautiful tiered rainbow cake with a poignant message about the power of community and a great education, a cheesecake which is so unique and delicious that Asda are putting it on sale in their stores across the country, a fabulous More In Common Batley cake (made by one of our very own Headteachers), a taste sensation from the brilliant Janice at BGHS whose cakes are famous across our Trust family of schools, a cake themed around the Trust logo made by our very own Attendance Lead, Becky, and a handcrafted work of art depicting a school's curriculum offer around horticulture, barnyard and bees - wow!

   

  Then there was a rhubarb spectacular in which learners from across several year groups of Batley Grammar School had thoughtfully researched forced rhubarb, The Rhubarb Triangle in West Yorkshire, Jo Cox and her work. The learners had grown the rhubarb (and even grown the flowers on their table display) then carefully crafted rhubarb cheesecake, rhubarb muffins, rhubarb crumble and even made rhubarb-ade to drink! This entry was amazing not only in taste, but in thought, care and attention to detail. Every aspect of their presentation was linked to the red and white gingham of the Great Get Together colours - down to the intricate little red and white bows on the miniature cheesecakes. It really was a showstopper! Well done Team BGS and a massive thank you to everyone who has supported our Great Get Together events this June! We are the Trust at the heart of the Batley community and we have far more in common than that which divides us. 

  

• Community Makes Us

  Mon 23 Jun 2025
  This weekend saw a fantastic community event at Oakwell Hall. It was the 9th Run for Jo event and we had the best ever turn out of our Members, Trustees, Governors, staff, learners and families, all representing our Trust family of schools, and our local community, at the event. People were volunteering, running, walking, supporting, and some were with their community groups, such as scouts. So many members of our brilliant staff team do so much to help others all year round and this event is one of the superb examples of that Batley Brilliance. 

   

  The Run for Jo is a key event in the Great Get Together calendar. It is all about bringing people together to celebrate the great people who live and work in our community. Jo was a true humanitarian and a real people person; and we bring people together at events like the Run for Jo, both to honour Jo's memory and build a legacy of community engagement and helping others. Our goal is also to inspire our next generation to always be the best version of themselves and to know the positive impact they can have on their local community. Every voice matters! And, as a great woman once said: "We all have far more in common than that which divides us."

   

  Community Makes Us and the unity in community is key. 

  

• Batley Brilliance

  Mon 16 Jun 2025
  Last week saw the turn of Hyrstmount to host the Batley Breakfast session. Hyrstmount is a new member of our Trust family of schools and the Batley Breakfast was a wonderful opportunity for Headteacher, Mr Leach, his talented staff team, and his incredible learners to showcase all that is marvellous about  Hyrstmount. They did not disappoint! It was a superb morning, and a great opportunity for Mr Leach to showcase to our Members, Trustees and Governors what makes Hyrstmount so successful, together with their vision for the future now they have joined our Trust family. 

   

  The Year 5 and 6 School Council team was fantastic, and it was great to hear about why they love attending Hyrstmount School, how they are involved in leading key areas of the school and their favourite aspect of life at Hyrstmount. The granny rap from another group of learners was an added bonus and simply brilliant!

   

  Well done Team Hyrstmount and welcome to our Trust family. You are already an asset to the team. 

  

• So much to celebrate

  Mon 09 Jun 2025

  Eid Mubarak to everyone in our community who was celebrating this weekend. We have so much to celebrate in Batley. Consider the brilliant people who live and work here, and the fantastic achievements they accomplish.

   

  Batley is all about brilliant education for all! Batley Girls' High School has the National Careers Champion of the Year award from the CDI (Career Development Institute), Upper Batley High School has been named as the Secondary School of the Year by Modeshift Stars with a fantastic presentation ceremony at the Royal Society in London, Smart Academy was described as 'exceptional' when monitored externally and Field Lane was crowned as a Neurodiversity Champion School. If that isn't enough, our schools are also all achieving the Eco Schools Award, many with distinction. This work is a crucial part of our environmental sustainability work. 

   

  All of this is taking place in schools where achievement is strong, attendance is high and increasing, and children enjoy coming to school, plus parents and carers would recommend our schools to others.
  
  We are very proud of our excellent schools and the remarkable people who work in them, as well as the remarkable learners who study with us. The education we offer commences with our two year old nursery provision, and goes right through to our adult education and training through our Yorkshire Rose Hub, and of course, we also have our community offer for families through our two community centres: The Fields, with one centre based at Field Lane School and one at Manorfield School.

   

  We are the Trust at the heart of the Batley community, and when education may not be prioritised as much as it should be nationally, we certainly proritise it here, doing our very best for the young people we serve, and our local community. Batley is all about brilliant education for all. 

  

• Community Makes Us

  Mon 02 Jun 2025
  Welcome back! We hope you have all enjoyed the half term break and time spent with family and friends. Many of our learners have now almost finished their assessments this year, whether that's our primary aged learners, our secondary learners, our sixth formers, or our adults doing their teacher training. With only seven weeks to go until the summer break, we have a busy time ahead, with lots of inspiring learning taking place each and every day, in every Trust school. Every Day Counts. 

   

  There are sports days, plays and productions, visits to colleges and universities, and a big transition day in July for all our Year 6 learners who will visit their new secondary schools. This half term is an exciting time of change and transition, and a time of new beginnings, when everyone looks ahead towards a bright and successful future. 

   

  Our Eco Schools work is thriving and HUGE congratulations to Upper Batley High School, whose work has once again been recognised by the Eco School Award with Distinction. Well done to Lisa Woods and the Upper Batley team!

   

  June is also the month of the Great Get Together. This is a national campaign about bringing people together to tackle loneliness through one connection at a time. Inspired by our MP, Jo Cox, the Great Get Together started as a coffee morning in Batley and is now an international movement with Great Get Together activities taking place all across the world!
  
  We celebrate bringing our community together as often as we can, especially in June. This year we have these fantastic events for you to get involved in:

   

  • Step Into The Future: Thursday 19 June - a virtual event connecting our Year 6 and Year 7 learners.
  • Run for Jo: Sunday 22 June at Oakwell Hall - a 2.5K family fun run, and a 6.5K run for everyone who would like to get involved.
  • Batley Bake Off: Friday 27 June at Upper Batley High School 10:00am-12:00pm. Bake a birthday cake for Jo, which can be any theme of your choice. There are prizes available for first, second and third place, or simply come along to try the cakes!

   

  Community Makes Us and the unity in community is key. 

   

  

• Batley Business is Booming

  Mon 19 May 2025

  In Batley some businesses are booming, despite the current economic challenges, and this is a great learning opportunity for our young people, allowing them to observe and understand such matters as:
   

  • How do you set up your own business?
  • How do you run a company efficiently and effectively, in the current economic climate?
  • How do you survive and thrive, despite the challenges you face?
  • How do you develop the resilience and grit you need to keep going, regardless of what life may throw at you? Resilience is that 'bouncebackability' that we all need. 

   

  All of these are key questions for young people, as well as key lessons for life. Life can be tough at any age, but developing coping strategies and managing to succeed are essential. Our learners take part in projects involving highly successful local businesses and learn about their story, their business mission and vision, and take part in some really engaging, real-life learning activities. 

   

  Currently, our secondary school learners from Batley Girls', Batley Grammar and Upper Batley are working with a local entrepreneur and his Batley-based business, Pugata Jewellery. Young people are learning about the key areas of the business and are designing their own piece of jewellery that will be manufactured and showcased at London Fashion Week. Wow - what an amazing example of more Batley Brilliance, and such an exciting careers curriculum enrichment project for our learners. We cannot wait to see their innovative jewellery designs.