Bath Community Academy
 |
|
| 225px | |
| Established | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Type | Secondary Academy |
| Principal | Adam Williams |
| Location | Rush Hill Bath Bath and North East Somerset BA2 2QL England Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| DfE URN | 138394 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Capacity | 600 |
| Students | 301 as of 2014[1] |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Website | bathcommunityacademy.org |
Bath Community Academy formerly Culverhay School is a mixed gender Secondary Academy located in the Odd Down area of Bath, England.
History
In 1956, the original buildings were completed when West Twerton School at The Hollow[2] moved to Rush Hill as a 'Secondary Modern', and changed name to Westhill Boys School, administered by Bath Education Authority.[3]
In 1966, sufficient funding was raised by the efforts of staff, pupils and the local community to enable an indoor swimming pool facility to be built within the school grounds. The pool measures 22 m × 7.5 m (72 ft × 25 ft) and is from 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 9.8 ft) deep. It has been equipped with facilities for disabled users, and is open evenings and weekends.[4]
In 1971, Culverhay School was formed when the City of Bath reorganised secondary education by merging grammar schools and secondary modern schools to form comprehensive schools. Westhill Boys Secondary Modern School and City of Bath Technical School were merged. The first Headmaster was Mr. Colin Bayne-Jardine a noted author of both history and educational management books. The school was one of the largest comprehensive schools in the south west of England during this period with a nine form entry of around 250 pupils and a total roll in excess of 1200.
The school achieved national recognition when it won the Schools National Angling Championship in 1977. Having previously achieved 4th place in 1976 the school was 4th in 1978 and 2nd in 1979 from an initial national entry of over 160 and a final of 40 teams. The school Angling Club was also named Angling Times school club of the year in 1977. The success of the Angling Club was unusual in one important sense as the school Angling Club was organized by pupils and not staff, but had the support of the local club, Bath AA, and fishing tackle shop, Fishcraft.
In 2004, Culverhay was awarded specialist status in Mathematics and Computing.
In 2006, the school received one of four prizes in the national Sport Relief programme's competition for schools. The prize was awarded for a plan devised by the pupils to raise money for the program by travelling 1,355 miles (2,181 km) by running, swimming, cycling and kayaking. Swimmer Sharron Davies visited the school to award the prize.[5]
Culverhay has been awarded the International School Award in recognition of its links with schools abroad, providing opportunity for students to visit different countries and learn about their cultures. It achieved the Healthy Schools Award for its work in pupil health education. Extra curricular activities encourage children to extend their academic interests into the local community. It was awarded the Gold Sportsmark in 2008 for its commitment to sport training.[6][7]
In 2006, Ofsted judged the school to be satisfactory on a four-point scale of outstanding, good, satisfactory, and poor.[8] Some aspects of the school were rated as good, but the sixth form was given an overall rating of poor.[8] In 2009, Ofsted inspected the school again and upgraded its rating to good.[7] The sixth form also received the same good rating.[7] The report, which praised the school's improvement since the previous inspection, did note that Culverhay has a higher than average number of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, and that the number of pupils with a statement of special educational needs was almost double that of other schools.[7] In 2009, Culverhay was the worst performing school in Bath and North East Somerset, with 38% of pupils achieving five or more GCSE passes at grade C including mathematics and English.[9] In 2010, the pass rate dropped to 31%, again the lowest in the area.[10]
In 2010, the school was identified for closure by Bath and North East Somerset council due to the large reduction in pupil intake.[11] At the time of the school's Ofsted inspection in May 2006, the school had 476 pupils.[8] When the school was again inspected by Ofsted in May 2009, the roll had fallen to 401.[7] In January 2011 there were 348 pupils at the school.[12] A consultation period on the school's closure took place in September and October.[13] Despite 74% of respondents in the consultation saying they were against Culverhay School closing,[14] the council backed the closure, so no new pupils will be admitted from September 2012.[15] In December 2010, the council's scrutiny committee backed the closure decision.[16]
In September 2011 the decision to close the school was revoked after an independent assessment was made that the school was sustainable as a co-educational establishment. £700,000 in funding will be provided by the local council for the necessary alterations. The school will remain financially viable in future as it is proposed to make a reduction in pupil intake levels as well.[17]
In October 2011 government approval was received for Culverhay to become a Sponsored Academy run by Cabot Learning Federation.[18]
In 2014 there were 274 students at Culverhay,[19] including boys in years 7 to 11 and a co-educational sixth form. The school was scheduled to close, with new admissions ceasing in September 2012.[15] However; this decision was revoked and the school is to become a co-educational establishment in 2012.[20][21]
Present day
Bath Community Academy is a 11-19 coeducational Secondary school in Bath. The academy is a sponsored led academy which is part of the Cabot Learning Federation in Bristol. Subjects taught at the academy include Art, Child Development, Computing, Dance, Design Technology, Drama, English and Literacy, Geography, History, iMedia, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, Physical Education, Religious Education and Science. The Academy has its own radio station called Phoenix Radio which won 2 Sony Schools Radio Academy awards in 2009 and 2012.
Bath Community Academy uses an online learning resource called iamlearning for homework / independent learning.
Notable alumni
- Roland Orzabal, musician (Tears for Fears) (left year 13, 1979)
- Mark Russell, economist (left year 13, 1978)
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
