Whiteley held the honorary position of Mayor of Wetwang in East Yorkshire and enjoyed a memorable day at Ripon in 2001 when Mare Of Wetwang won a 10-furlong handicap race.
The top three dioceses for growth in average weekly attendance during the same period were Southwell and Nottingham with a 10.7% increase, Norwich - identified in the 2011 Census as the least religious local authority in England and Wales - with attendence up 9.1% and Ripon and Leeds with a 7.4% rise.
The head teacher of Ripon College, Paul Lowery, says the two schools draw on each other's strengths - the traditional curriculum at the grammar school and the college's expertise in technology.