Doncaster headteacher's legacy for reunion

Wheatley Hills Secondary Modern School for Boys opened in 1955 in purpose-built premises on what has now become Leger Way.

In September 1959, 34-year-old Denis Heeley was appointed headmaster and he and his staff quickly developed a forward-thinking curriculum designed to launch boys into industrial, professional or academic careers.

The school quickly became a hive of positive activity when new GCE courses were established at O and A level and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme introduced. Music flourished through choir, band and orchestral activity and the performance of operas and operettas and school sports teams competed at every level.

As a result of all this, many boys collected gold awards at Buckingham Palace and went on to pursue professional or academic careers or commissions in the armed forces. Others achieved equal success in industry and commerce.

Such was the effect on those boys lucky enough to have been there during Denis’s tenure, that regular reunions have taken place over the years in celebration of the school and its life long influence on those who passed through it, many attended by Denis and members of his staff.

In October 2019, Denis Heeley died at the age of ninety four and in his will he left a sum of money to cover the costs of a get together of boys who attended during his seven year tenure from 1959 to 1966. I have the task of trying to contact as many of those as possible.

The event is planned for late summer/early autumn this year, but until provisional numbers can be established, the venue or catering arrangements are yet to be determined.

Denis left Wheatley Hills to become senior lecturer at High Melton Teacher Training College and from there became the town’s Deputy Director of Education.The picture of him is at his ninetieth birthday party held at the Earl of Doncaster in 2015.

Wheatley Hills High School, as it later became, became a Middle School in the eighties and closed down in 1997.

Paul Bell

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