Hope Valley College

A big 'Thank You' is due to everyone  who came along to the Grand Summer Party on Sunday 28th June, and the many people who helped to plan it and who volunteered to help on the day.

The party was last big special event for the golden jubilee year celebrations, and the general feeling seems to be that it was a great success! 

It was a chance to meet friends - old and new. Well over 200 former staff and students signed up on the sheets to say when they came to the College. We reckon that about 400 people came along in total.

Highlights included: displays on the history of the College and Hope  School;the fabulous 'well dresssing' designed by year 7 students; flags and pendants made by textile students; Live music in the new Music Suite from 'Lost Noise', Matt McKenna and Friends, former HVC students Emily & Sophy Ball, 'Running On Empty' and Omega Jazz; Roast Meat Sandwiches from Heatherhill Farm meats, Hope Valley's own Ice Cream, and the famous PTFA cakes and refreshments. We had 'From Marconi to Mobiles' - an amateur radio demonstration ; 'Science then and now'; a petition for a safe cycle route in the Valley; Sports, including a chance to try the Climbing Wall, and an open rounders competition ; the HVC Challenge quiz ; Mayhem juggling, bouncy castles, Student films and some very popular Pottery workshops.

We finished with a rather  special 'Rededication' ceremony, to mark the 50th anniversary of the visit by Henry Morris and the official opening of the College in July 1959. It was great to see so many early HVC students taking part. Keith Wilkinson and Marian Humphreys ( formerly Wall) who were HVC teachers in the 1960s, presented a specially made plate to Current staff and students to replace the one presented by Henry Morris to the College in 1959. The new plate has been made by Adult Education tutor, Lee Waterman, and symbolises the warm welcome extended by the College to the local community.

The College Open Evening on July 15th 6.30 - 8.30pm marked the formal end to the year's celebrations. Ten sky lights were released from the College field, one for each decade of the College's life.

2 other events late in the year were also arranged as part of the golden  jubilee year. We had a special visit from film and TV star James Nesbitt on 30th June to celebrate the first year of the new music suite. And right at the end of term, the College was presented with a great framed photograph of the concert held in May at the Octogon Theatre,Buxton. The picture was presented by Sean Jennings (ex HVC student) on behalf of the Tideswell Male Voice Choir who had performed with the College Choirs and bands at the special concert.  The picture will be displayed in the music suite.

 Interview with current students as part of the celebrations "How has the college changed?"

* The Celebration Concert at the Octagon Theatre, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton on Friday 22nd May was a great success.

Thank you to everyone involved for an evening of wonderful music.

The concert featured the famous Tideswell Male Voice Choir, the Hope Valley College Choir, the HVC Big Band and the HVC Wind Band.

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'Seeds of Hope' was a series of evening talks and presentations linked to the history of education and childhood in the Hope Valley, plus a special 'History Day' on Saturday May 9th.

The history day on May 9th- a 'first' for the valley, went well. There were displays from Bradwell, Bamford, Castleton and Hope local history groups, and an exhibition about the history of Hope Valley College.

Sue Thompson, a family history tutor with Derbyshire Adult Community Education ran two family history workshops, and gave advice to people who were tracing their family trees.

There was a fascinating film made by children in Bamford, and archive footage about education in the 1930s and 40s.

Great refreshments were provided by the PTFA.

Thank you to everyone who helped!

We have started discussions about whether to make this an annual event.

The first 'Seeds of Hope' session was held on Wed. March 25th. The topic was 'Education in Hope before the College'. A really interesting presentation was given by members of Hope Historical Society , and they also brought a display of photos of education in the village from the late 19th Century to the 1950s. Ann Price talked about the early schools in the village, notably the 'Free School' which enabled 10 children from poor families to be taught reading and reading without charge. She explained how a new school was built in 1859 through public subscription, at a cost of just over £260! - and this building still stands (near the Church, round the corner from Loxley Hall). Moira Monteith had discovered school log books from the early 1860s which gave a fascinating glimpse of the social history of the time. It was revealing to find out that the school was used for a range of community events - so Hope Valley College is clearly following a long tradition!

The new (and present) primary school was opened by the County Council in a much better building in 1913, and the children walked from the old to the new school to formally mark the occasion.

Maurice Deane talked about what it was like being a teenager in the village before the College opened. Whilst some children got places at New Mills Grammar school, the majority had to make do in the Valley. Older children from Hope, Castleton and Edale spent a day a week at Hathersage school - the boys doing metalwork and woodwork, the girls doing needlework and domestic science. Both boys and girls had a chance to learn weaving, and there was also an opportunity to do gardening, with older children supervising their own plots. There was some discussion about the stigma attached to failing the 11 plus exam, as well as the difficulties for children going to Grammar school. Some parents stopped their children attending the grammar school, for financial reasons, or because they wanted them to work, or because they didn't think it was the right place for girls.

Wed. April 22nd 7.15pm 'Hope Valley College - What Makes it Special?' Presented by Barry Foster, Principal of the College from 1975 -90. Barry  talked about the origins of the College, his own experiences here and how the College fitted in with other developments in education at the time. (A report of Barry's talk will be available shortly)

Wed. 29th April.7.15pm 'After Seth' and the 'Book of Edale'. Members of Bradwell Historical Society talked about their recent book about the history of the village. Members of Edale Society  talked about their 'Book of Edale'.

Wed. 6th May. An evening with local authors, Sandy Brown and Berlie Doherty. Sandy, who was born in Bradwell and came to school at the College talked about and read from her recent book, 'Angels Do Tell Lies' , growing up in the valley, and  how she came to be a foster carer. Berlie Doherty is well known for her books based on places and people in the Hope Valley and local area. These include 'White Peak Farm', 'Bella's Den', 'Abela - The Girl who saw Lions' and 'Granny is a Buffer Girl'. She also has 2 new books due out in the Spring. She read from her books and talked about what inspired her writing, how she wrote and why she wrote about this area. It was a really interesting and enjoyable evening.

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If you would like to put on a display, or you have items which we could display at the summer party in June, please contact Steve Bond on the above number or e mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Celebrating the 50 Years

The College first opened its doors to students in September 1958. The formal opening by Henry Morris was in July 1959.

Our 50th anniversary celebrations began in 2008 and will continue until July 2009 in recognition of that pioneering year as Derbyshire’s first Village College.

Download a copy of our Events Leaflet.

Hope Valley Music Making This new partnership with High Peak Community Arts will create music making opportunities for 8 -18 year olds in the Valley. Composer Ornette Clennon will front a small team of music leaders working on three major projects. The first one, ‘Tell me wha’ gwan, blood’, an exciting new commission, will engage young people in choral work, live ensemble playing and improvisation. It will start early in 2009 with performances around Easter. The project has the generous support of the Foundation for Youth Music and the PRS Foundation.

Music Gig

A successful 50 years gig was held on Feb. 28th at the College. About 200 people attended and danced to 6 different local bands, playing music from the 50s to the present.

Whole School Photograph for the College's Silver Jubilee Anniversary 1983/4

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