My name is Peter Mulholland and I am Principal at William Hulme's Grammar School. I came to the Academy in 2008. 

A unique school

I am proud that William's Hulme's Grammar School is the most popular primary and secondary school in Greater Manchester. It is a unique school, educating children and young people from the age of 3 to 18 on one school site. William Hulme's has a strong tradition as a successful independent school and is now at the forefront of educational change as a ULT academy with high aspirations for all our students.

My background

I studied History at Oxford University from 1983 to 1986 and then made the decision to apply for a teacher training post-graduate course at Didsbury School of Education. It is a decision that I have never regretted and I have been teaching for 25 years in the north-west of England working in a range of schools from a comprehensive to two high achieving grammar schools. I am in my sixth year as Principal at William Hulme's and I am still enjoying it immensely. I am married with three young children and understand fully the demands on parents and the high expectations we have for our children.

Our vision for the future

At William Hulme's, we believe in the ‘best in everyone' and aim to achieve this by combining the best of the independent and state sectors. We want to work closely with parents and the wider community in our bid to achieve this ambitious aim.

William Hulme’s prides itself on being a friendly, multi-cultural community that produces happy, successful and active members of the community. We provide a first class education, setting very high standards that challenges all our students to be the best in everything they do.

We expect every child to achieve the best possible academic qualifications and make the most of all the support and opportunities provided by the school. We overcome any barriers to making progress. Whatever a child’s starting point, we ensure that he or she makes outstanding progress and is fully equipped for the challenges of adult life. Any obstacles to learning are dealt with by our Student Services and Pastoral teams and our personalised curriculum pathways ensure that every child succeeds.

At the heart of our school ethos is our emphasis on Academic Rigour, Respect and Enrichment. The school is a ‘hive of activity’ that provides many opportunities and experiences for students to develop all the skills necessary to become fully rounded young people.

Why is this one of the most popular and highest performing state schools in the UK?

At William Hulme's we provide:

• An all-through 3 - 18 school experience
• A learning environment based on very high academic standards
• A school where all children are encouraged to reach their true potential and parents are welcome
• The best of the independent school tradition such as the House system and a tremendous range of extra-curricular activities
• An exciting place to learn with excellent facilities, new technology and a wide range of teaching and learning experiences
• A vibrant and tolerant multi-cultural community
• A deeper learning of the wider world through our enterprise activities and International School links
• Outstanding careers advice and an opportunity to meet ex-students who have been successful in a variety of occupations

United Learning is a group of schools which aims to provide excellent education to children and young people across the country. We seek to improve the life chances of all the children and young people we serve and make it our mission to bring out the best in everyone – students, staff, parents and the wider community. We are uniquely united across both the state and the independent sectors; we make learning and improvement our focus. Together, we are one of the country’s largest education providers, currently educating over 30,000 students and employing over 5,500 members of staff including over 2,500 teachers. 

We provide a broad education, which prepares young people to progress in learning and to make a success of their lives. We focus sharply on the evidence of what makes it more likely that young people will progress and succeed, apply that to our practice and continue to learn and develop our schools. We make it a priority to provide teachers with excellent professional support and development, so that every child receives an excellent experience. 

Through being a group, we can offer more to both staff and young people that any single school could offer alone. The growing range of outstanding group-wide activities that we can provide will mean that more young people will have truly exceptional and inspiring experiences. Already, we believe that our group contains the most developed relationships and practical interaction between independent and state schools in the country, creating benefits for all the schools involved.