Heathfield Community College - Haunted by its past?
College Entrance
Many people pass through the
crowded school corridors each year, coming and going as they serve out their
years. As a new year starts, the Year 7s wander along the halls looking in awe,
or terror, at the older students trudging along in their friendship groups.
Rumours once again circulate about the past of Heathfield Community College and
how it came to be a school.
Rumours abound that say it was originally an old hospital, with each classroom as
a single ward, while others say it is haunted by the ghosts of people who have
passed away in the building; few dare to admit they have seen these ghosts
wandering around the halls after school hours.
When I personally came into Year 7 I
remember being told by the older students that the school was originally a
mental hospital where many people had died horribly which as you can imagine
was not fun for me to hear at the time. Six years on I now realise how naive I
was. So let me put these rumours to rest and say this is most definitely not
the case.
Heathfield Community College
has always been a school for educational purposes. Founded in 1950 it was
originally envisioned for an average of 800 students but the college nowadays
finds itself holding an average of 1,700 students between the ages of 11-18. Very much a major increase!
The school has grown in many
different ways over the years, with the Sixth Form Block being the key addition
which was built in 1972. It was known as the ROSLA building beforehand, which
stood for ‘Raising of the School Leaving Age’ due to students having to
continue their school education instead of leaving at 16.
34 years later, the college
decided to build the ‘K Block’ to cope with the rise in student numbers. The ‘K
Block’ is actually named in memory of Bob Kiernan, who was a Governor of the
school from 1988 to 2008. Before it changed to the Humanities Department at the
end of August 2012, many students used to have their English lessons there; I
still remember mine rather well, studying ‘Of Mice
and Men’ and ‘A View from the Bridge’.
So, in short, the only mysterious past our
school has to offer is hard work and fantastic achievements by every student to
walk the halls. Amazing GCSE and A Level results have definitely proved that
this year and let’s hope that the achievements continue for years to come.