The Yorkshire high school whose students have worked on Happy Valley, The Crown, Gentleman Jack and All Creatures Great and Small

When the third and final series of Happy Valley began on the BBC on New Year’s Day, the scenic Yorkshire views that beamed onto primetime television screens were rather familiar for staff and pupils at Ryburn Valley High School. For shots of the countryside which featured in the opening episode were taken from Ryburn’s football pitches.
Laura Reid
By Laura Reid
Published 19th Jan 2023, 11:50 BST

More locations from around the Sowerby Bridge secondary school are appearing as the series progresses –and some of its students are too. More than 300 pupils were given the opportunity to work with the Happy Valley crew in extra or supporting roles during the three season span of the production.

Written by Huddersfield’s Sally Wainwright, it follows the character of Sergeant Catherine Cawood, a tough and defiant member of the police force who is facing her traumatic past. “It is not a police show, it’s a show about Catherine, who happens to be a police officer,” Wainwright previously told The Yorkshire Post. “It’s really about Catherine and about what happened to her in the past and this weird crooked relationship she has with this man who affected her life so badly.”

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Stars including Sarah Lancashire (Catherine), Siobhan Finneran and James Norton were in Halifax for the premier of the gritty drama series in December. Happy Valley filmed widely across Yorkshire, particularly in Calderdale, supported by Screen Yorkshire’s Film Office and Film Calderdale. Ryburn says production teams last February created “a buzz” for the local community. The school, part of the Together Learning Trust, has a history of being involved in TV productions.

Ryburn Valley High School, Sowerby Bridge was used as a filming location for series three of Happy Valley.Ryburn Valley High School, Sowerby Bridge was used as a filming location for series three of Happy Valley.
Ryburn Valley High School, Sowerby Bridge was used as a filming location for series three of Happy Valley.

More than 200 of its students acted as extras in Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge and the school took centre stage for season 6 of CBBC’s Our School, a fly-on-the-wall documentary following the day-to-day adventures of a group of Year 7 and 8 Ryburn students.

A BBC documentary focused around teenage snooker player Stan Moody was filmed at Ryburn in December and pupils have also taken roles in shows including The Crown, Gentleman Jack and All Creatures Great and Small.

Will Powell, who played Prince Harry in the most recent series of The Crown, says working on the show was “incredible”. “I got to work with one of my favourite actors, Dominic West who played Prince Charles - he was really fun to be around. Ryburn always encouraged me to go out and put myself forward for roles, and to gain as much real-life experience as possible.”

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Triestina Bozzo, assistant headteacher, adds: “We are incredibly proud of the opportunities we are able to provide our students, especially when working with creative giants like the BBC and top production companies. We talk about the arts not only being a fulfilling and diverse career path, but also a platform for vital transferable skills.”

Happy Valley is next on at 9pm on Sunday on BBC One.

Related topics:Happy ValleyBBCGentleman JackYorkshireThe Crown