building was designed by John Hogg, a local architect. At the time of the 1881 census, Head master William Cambridge Barber, assisted by a Matron, Head mistress, and 8 assistant masters and mistresses, presided over a population of 216 "scholar orphans." They included 84 girls and 132 boys, ranging in age from 7 to 16. They were mostly English born, but included a few Irish as well as children from as far away as Australia. A Royal Charter of 31 January 1887, named the institution The Crossley and Porter Orphan Home and School. In 1919 the school was given royal permission to admit day pupils. There were two sections – the Crossley and Porter Boys' School, with around 300 boys, and the Crossley and Porter Girls' School, with around 450 girls, administered by the County Borough of Halifax. In 1967, it became the co-educational Crossley and Porter School with around 800 girls and boys. The Crossley Heath School The amalgamation required a re-organisation of the two sets of staff, the net outcome being the former Headmaster of Crossley and Porter, Paul Barker, became the Head of the new school with John Bunch, former acting Head of Heath becoming Deputy Headmaster. The first intake of true Crossley Heath students arrived on Tuesday 27 August 1985. The initial intake was circa 90 pupils; a reduction from the previous intakes of Crossley and Porter and Heath intakes by around 50 pupils. The school was initially located on two sites, the former Heath Grammar School building (initially referred to as the Crossley Heath Annex but later changed to the Crossley Heath 6th Form Centre) and the Crossley and Porter School building. The former Heath building initially housed the combined sixth forms of the two schools, plus the combined fourth form, with all other years being housed at Savile Park. As the number of pupils reduced over the coming years, the 6th form and 4th form were relocated to the Savile Park site and the Free School Lane site was passed over to the local authority to become a training centre. Throughout this period, the staff head count was also reduced to reflect the smaller number of pupils. The school became a Specialist Language College in 2003. In 2006 it was designated a Language College and a second specialism as a Leadership Partner school was granted in 2007. In 2010 a sports hall was built,