Hulme Grammar School in Oldham has been commended in the national Independent Schools of the Year awards for outstanding educational partnerships.

The commendation recognises the Chamber Road school's community outreach programme, which brings together local primary schools, businesses and sixth form volunteers. The scheme is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and was selected from a record number of nominations across the country.

A 12-hour Hackathon in December brought together 100 pupils aged eight to 18 from across the community. Using artificial intelligence, students built apps, software and websites designed to solve real-world problems. The event was supported by industry partners including Nominet, Purple, CTI Digital, AMEX GBT, Lovable and Koder.ly. A further Hackathon has been announced for next year.

The school has also opened its facilities to local primary schools. Pupils have used its sports tracks to host sports days, while the food technology kitchens have hosted hands-on lessons in food preparation, healthy eating and nutrition.

Two careers fairs were held to support future pathways. In October, more than 300 pupils from senior schools and colleges attended a Senior Schools and Colleges Fair. In June, more than 200 primary schoolchildren attended a fair to spark early career aspirations. Pupils met representatives from the Palace Theatre in Manchester, Hilti GB, the University of Manchester and Purple.AI.

Other outreach work includes Primary Engineer and coding workshops, science weeks, and the Creative Young Minds and Enquiring Young Minds programmes, which offer multi-week sessions in art, music, biology and chemistry. Creative Writing Days and paired reading schemes have also been run, with sixth formers visiting local schools.

Dr Chris Millington, Deputy Principal (Outreach), said: "The commendation reflects the daily dedication of Hulme's staff and students, who passionately believe that excellent education should ripple outward into the wider community."

Dr Helen Wright, chair of the Independent Schools of the Year 2026 judging panel, said: "The innovative and life-affirming student experience which independent schools provide to their students is awe-inspiring and the stories told in the entries are both moving and humbling. The standard of entries has never been higher, so well done on the success of your school, and congratulations on the great work that you do!"

Looking ahead to 2026/2027, the Creative Minds series returns in November and Enquiring Minds in early 2027. The school is inviting more local businesses to take part, whether by providing a guest engineer for Science Week, sponsoring a coding initiative, or offering industry insights at the next careers fair or Hackathon.