catchment area was enlarged. The school became five-form entry with an age range of 11 to 18 years, and the first all-ability intake started in 1973. This required further buildings and a contract was signed in January 1972 for a further 674 sq. m. two-storey block, which was completed for the increased intake. This cost £60,000 of which the LEA contributed £6,000. Further plans were made to accommodate the annual build·up of pupils. An increase in specialist teaching rooms was required, and as the original building had only one or two for each subject it was impossible to create integrated departments without remodeling many older rooms for a changed use. This created problems for the builders and the school, as teaching had to continue throughout the construction. In October 1973, work on a new contract costing £442,000 began and continued until October 1975. The LEA's contribution was £132,000. It included extensions to the library, staff and administrative rooms, added a further 1,905 sq. m. and accommodated more than 350 extra pupils. The 1962 site was now too small and more land was acquired. The playing fields covered in addition to land occupied by buildings and paved areas. Construction on the sixth form centre, the Clitherow Building (named after Saint Margaret Clitherow) started in May 1978 and provided another 676 sq. m. at a cost of £117,000. It provided classrooms, seminar rooms, a common room and two laboratories. The school was fully comprehensive from September 1979, with a five/six form entry, varying from 150 to 180 per year and 950 pupils on roll. There were 50 members of staff. 14 subjects were offered to the sixth form. The Clitherow Building was blessed by William Wheeler, Bishop of Leeds, in November 1979. Hume Building: 1980–2001 The school celebrated its silver anniversary (25 years) in 1989 with a special Mass. In June 1993, the choir of St. Mary's appeared in Black Daisies for the Bride, a BBC 2 television film written by Tony Harrison for National Alzeheimer's Week, filmed in High Royds Hospital, Menston. St Mary's became a Sports College specialist school in 2000. As a specialist sports college, St Mary's has a team of coaches who give their services to 54 other schools in a sports partnership with St Mary's. The opening of the Hume building (named after Basil Cardinal Hume) by David Konstant, Bishop of Leeds, took place in February 2001.