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Leeds Industrial School for Boys

Leeds Industrial School for Girls

The Leeds Industrial School for Girls, or Thorparch Industrial School for Girls was opened on 6 January 1896 on Walton Road, Thorp Arch. The school was managed by the Leeds School Board and could accommodate up to 100 girls. The school had fruit and flower gardens, a gymnasium, space for outdoor play and facilities for training the girls, such as a bake house and laundry. 

Black and white photo of a large, grand looking  building with a field at the front and several trees.
Thorparch Girls Industrial School

Residents were taught sewing and mending, cooking, cleaning and were trained with the view that they would go on to domestic service once they had left the school.

In 1935, the school became an Approved School for boys and eventually closed in the 1990s. Its former buildings are now used as offices.