Whitcliffe Mount was a product of its time, district and people”. Following the passing of the 1902 Education Act, a band of five men John G Mowat, George Whiteley, J Walter Wadsworth, Reginald M Grylls and Will H Clough, all members of the District Council, were strong and determined to fight for a school in Cleckheaton for the people of Cleckheaton. Their tenacity paid off. Cleckheaton Secondary School was opened in temporary premises (The Technical Institute, Brooke Street) at 9 a.m. on 22nd September 1908. The headmaster was Mr Joshua Holden. There were 28 students on roll. The plans for the new site were approved by County Council on 12th January 1909 and the Board of Education on 6th March 1909. Tenders were invited for Friday 19th March and the day after, the contract to build was let to Messrs Robinson and Crowther of Cleckheaton. The first sod was cut on 31st March 1909 and for foundation stone was laid on 5th June 1909. There was an official ceremony to mark the laying of the stone. The weather was atrocious and conditions kept the speeches short. A bottle containing copies of the invitation, programme, previous week’s “Guardian” and an account of the events leading up to the building scheme was placed in the cavity.
The school opened with 95 pupils on roll and its new site as “Cleckheaton Secondary and Technical School” on 15th September 1910. Under the 1944 Education Act, the school become Whitcliffe Mount Secondary Grammar School and on going comprehensive in 1973, became Whitcliffe Mount School.
