the history of st. Aidan's school

The foundation stone for the new St. Aidan's Church of England High School was laid on a green field site in Oatlands Drive by the Right Reverend John Moorman, Lord Bishop of Ripon in June 1966. Until 1967 church school education in Harrogate was in the hands of Christ Church Secondary School for boys and St. Peter's Secondary School for girls. Both were secondary modern schools. As the population of Harrogate increased during the early '60s and the demand for better facilities gathered pace it was clear that the provision for Church of England education in Harrogate was becoming inadequate. The vision of a new Church of England school came into being largely through the vision of the late Canon Roger Baines, a long serving Vicar of St. Peter's.

This priceless photograph was discovered in an attic in Bradford and is dated 1937 - a reminder of days gone by.

Wheatlands Secondary School stood adjacent to the new green field site on Oatlands Drive. This beautiful Grade 2 listed building is now known as Bede House with its distinctive Clock Tower. Originally built in 1800 as a private home, Bede House has served several purposes in its long history, a Prep School and also as an emergency Teacher Training College immediately after the Second World War. The war time heroism of RAF personnel from Christ Church Secondary School is marked on a plaque in the Clock Tower.

The new St. Aidan's Church of England Secondary School was opened by the Bishop of Ripon in September alongside Wheatlands School. The first Headteacher was Miss Hindmarsh, followed by her erstwhile Deputy Head Ken Stott. In 1973 St. Aidan's became a full 11 - 18 mixed comprehensive school and in the same year began its wonderful nationally renowned Sixth Form association with St John Fisher Catholic High School. The school rapidly expanded and took over the building of Wheatlands School in the mid '70s; the then pupils of Wheatlands Secondary School moved to a new site, which is today known as Harrogate Rossett High School. On the last day of Wheatlands' existence a part of the school was destroyed by fire, leaving the Clock Tower for many years in isolated splendour. The space was gloriously filled in 1997 by the award winning Constance Green Hall, named in memory of a generous Harrogate philanthropist.

Today St. Aidan's School is barely recognisable in terms of its buildings. It opened with 600 pupils; today there are over 1800 pupils on the same site. The vision, however, of its founders remains unchanged; St. Aidan's is a flourishing comprehensive school. It has been judged twice by Ofsted to be outstanding, an accolade achieved by barely 100 schools in the whole country. Its name is a byword for musical, sporting and theatrical achievement, academic excellence, but most of all a deep and abiding concern for those in a less privileged and less fortunate position.