Brooke Weston Academy

Last updated

Brooke Weston Academy [1]
Brooke Weston Academy logo.jpg
Address
Brooke Weston Academy
Coomb Road

, ,
NN18 8LA

United Kingdom
Coordinates 52°28′02″N0°42′46″W / 52.4672°N 0.7127°W / 52.4672; -0.7127
Information
Type Academy
Established1991
Department for Education URN 135317 Tables
Ofsted Reports
PrincipalShaun Strydom [2]
Gender Mixed
Age11to 18
Enrolment1,196 pupils
Colour(s)   Blue and Silver[ citation needed ]
Website http://www.brookeweston.org/

Brooke Weston Academy is an Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, teaching pupils from ages 11 to 18. It has consistently placed very highly in GCSE league tables and has an above average value added score at Key Stage 4. [3] [4] The value added score for Key Stage 5 is below average nationally, but slightly higher than the Northamptonshire average. [5] Attainment on entry is well above average and the proportions of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities or eligible for free school meals are much lower than average. [6]

Contents

Background

Founded in 1991, the school was opened as a City Technology College. The college's catchment area includes Corby, Kettering and surrounding towns and villages. Two businessmen, Hugh de Capell Brooke, a local landowner, and Garry Weston, owner of Associated British Foods, donated land and funded the initial building of the school respectively, along with additional grants from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation. [7] The school opened in September 1991 under the name Brooke City Technology College. The name was changed 18 months later to reflect the continued support offered from the Weston Foundation.

Principals

Information technology

The school makes use of electronic whiteboards in all classrooms, learning bases and study rooms.[ citation needed ] Every pupil and member of staff has their own user accounts and storage areas.

The school was one of the first to take on board the GNVQ IT, in place of the GCSE. The transitional year of 1998 saw other subject classes cancelled for entire week blocks to bring the pupils into the new qualification having previously studied the GCSE. In addition many Design & Technology classes were cancelled to be replaced with IT classes.

Online curriculum

The school produced and sold an ‘online curriculum’. This consists of a range of interactive learning materials and online tasks which all relate to various subject areas. The school's subsidiary company, @tain, sells access to the content to other schools. In addition, the school also provided training days which allowed teaching staff from other schools to attend seminars at the school and learn the methods in which the school taught the courses provided on its online curriculum and how to maximise the effectiveness of using it in a classroom environment.[ citation needed ]

With the redevelopment of the vocational courses in 2010, Brooke Weston decided to not produce materials for the new specifications. [10]

School traditions

Each year, the school holds its annual sports day at Corby Triangle near Rockingham where it displays almost all popular track and field disciplines.

Brooke Weston holds an annual prizegiving in September of each year, celebrating the achievements of the pupils for the previous academic year. Prizes are awarded in each year for individual subjects (with the exception of Year 11 and Year 13), pupil of the year, and also recognition for academic success in GCSE and A Level.

Other facilities

The school also has a Design Technology suite, with CAD/CAM facilities and a laser cutter. The CAD/CAM suite also includes an A3 colour laser printer. The department also includes two workshops including CNC lathes, wood-turning lathes, metal working lathes, scroll saws and pillar drills, jig-saws and clamps. The department also features facilities for textiles and sewing as well as an area for pupils to review and edit design plans digitally using a range of programmes. It was refurbished in 2008 at a cost of £250,000. [11] The school also has its own video editing studio with chroma-key (blue-screen) facility.

Recent development

In September 2008, Brooke Weston converted to an Academy. £5 million of Government money has been invested in the school, which has resulted in the construction of a new Creative and Digital Arts Centre. Opened on 9 October 2009, this has expanded the school's music and drama performing facilities alongside a new TV studio and kitchens, which will allow Food Technology to be taught. The entire school building underwent a refurbishment to coincide with the opening of the new department.

Controversy

In January 2013, Brooke Weston issued an apology after an email criticising a pyjama day was accidentally sent from vice principal, Mark Willimott, to children's cancer charity 'Chelsea's Angels', who suggested the event. Willimott had intended to forward the email with his comments to a colleague, but inadvertently addressed it to charity founder Michelle Tompkins too, writing:

"AM I MISSING SOMETHING??? FYI although are they aiming for a paedophile's paradise????" [12]

In August 2015, Willimott was arrested for possessing and distributing indecent images of children. He pleaded guilty to all four charges facing him, including one count of making 30,546 indecent images of children, one count of making 773 indecent images of children, one count of distributing 128 indecent images, and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image showing the act of intercourse with an animal. None of the images were of children at Brooke Weston. [13] In April 2016, Willimott was sentenced to two years in prison for the charge of distributing images, eight months in prison for each of the charges of making images, and one month in prison for a further charge of possessing an extremely indecent image involving an animal. A statement from Brooke Weston said:

"Brooke Weston Academy is shocked and appalled by Mark Willimott’s conduct. The police investigation determined that none of the activity took place using school equipment or involved any of our pupils. The safety of pupils at the Academy has and will always be our paramount concern and we have robust safeguarding procedures which have been complied with.” [14]

Brooke Weston Trust

The school is in partnership with the Corby Business Academy, which has replaced the former Corby Community College. The former principal of Corby Business Academy, Dr. Andrew Campbell, is the Chief Executive of the Academy Trust, with principals Simon Underwood and Nicola Treacy (Joint Heads of School) and Peter Kirkbride respectively in charge of each school.

In September 2009, the Partnership became partly responsible for the running of the new Kettering Science Academy. This 3-18 school replaced both the Ise Community College and Henry Gotch Primary School.

Academic performance

2007

86% of Brooke Weston pupils achieved the equivalent of 5 or more A*-C GCSEs including English and maths. [15]

2008

Brooke Weston achieved a 100% A level pass rate. 86% of Brooke Weston pupils achieved the equivalent of 5 or more A*-C GCSEs including English and maths (100% A*-C GCSEs). [3]

2009

81% of Brooke Weston pupils achieved the equivalent of 5 or more A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths. It also achieved a 100% A*-C pass rate. [16] Nearly a quarter of all 183 pupils achieved 10 or more A* or A grades, and exactly a third of all grades awarded were an A or A*. Three pupils achieved 17 A* and A grades (including GNVQ ICT), and 2 pupils achieved the equivalent of 19 GCSEs.
In A Level, Brooke Weston achieved a 100% pass rate, including 48% of those being an A or B grade. In five subjects, all entries received A grade achievements.[ citation needed ]

2010

Pupils at Brooke Weston achieved an 86% pass rate of A*-C grades in GCSE including Maths and English. 38% of all grades awarded were A* or A, and seven pupils achieved 17 GCSEs each. Top performing pupils achieved 15 A* or A grades. Brooke Weston also achieved its, at the time, best ever A Level results this year, with a 100% pass rate. 61% of grades awarded were A*/A+B, and the average UCAS point score for each pupil also increased significantly.[ citation needed ]

2011

84% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths, with 37% of all GCSE grades awarded either an A* or A grade.
On average pupils attained 15 GCSEs. [17]
100% of pupils passed all the A Levels they sat. 68% of all A Level exams were graded at A*/A or B (up 7% from the year before), with 6% of all exam entries being awarded an A* grade. The average UCAS point score increased to 379 (equivalent to 3 A grades per pupil), up from 334 from the previous year. [18]

2012

87% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSE passes including English and Maths, a 3% increase on the year before. The 100% GCSE pass rate was extended to a ninth year. 41% of all entries were graded at A* or A. [19]
64% of A Level exams were graded at A*/A or B, a decrease of 4% from the previous year. The average points score also decreased marginally to 361, which remains as the equivalent of three A grades. However, there was a 4% increase in the number of A* grades awarded, up to 10% in 2012. [20]

2013

72% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C grade GCSE passes including English and Maths, a significant drop from previous years. [21] On average, each pupil achieved 14 GCSEs graded A*-C, and 47 pupils achieved at least 8 A* or A grades. 40% of entries were awarded A* or A. [22]
The school's, at the time, best ever A-Level results were celebrated in 2013. [23]

2014

84% of pupils achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSE passes, up 8% from the year before. Excluding ICT, 21% of all entries were graded at A* or A. [21] Of the year 11 cohort, 73% gained a GCSE in Modern Foreign Languages, a significant improvement compared to previous years. 92% of entries for Mathematics were graded A*-C, replicating the school's record.
2014 was a year of change in GCSE examinations; had previous accountability measures been used, 100% of pupils would have secured 5 A*-C grades, and 39% of all entries awarded A* or A. [21]
61% of all A-Level entries were awarded A*, A or B, and 86% of all entries graded A*-C. The overall average point score was 336 UCAS points, equating to a grade profile of AAB.
17 pupils achieved a profile of 3 A*/A grades, and 3 pupils a profile of 4 A*/A grades. 39% of all entries were awarded A* or A. [24]

2015

90% of pupils achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, with 84% of the cohort securing English, Maths and at least three other GCSEs. 28% of all grades awarded were either A* or A. [25] The academy celebrated its best ever A-Level Results. It was also the sixth consecutive year that pupils have performed at an outstanding level, with an average score per pupil of 381 UCAS points, indicating that, on average, pupils achieved three A grades each. [26]

2016

83% of year 11 pupils secured A* to C grades, or equivalent, in five or more subjects at GCSE. 77% of the cohort secured English, mathematics and at least three other GCSEs or Level 2 qualifications. Almost a quarter of all grades awarded were A*/A or Distinction. [27]
55% of all A-Level entries were graded at A*/A/B and 83% of grades were A*- C. The overall average point score per pupil was 325, indicating an ABB profile. [28]

2017

93% of year 11 students secured grades 9 to 4 in the newly reformed English qualifications and 88% of the cohort secured the same in Mathematics. Over a quarter of all grades were awarded A*/A, or the new equivalent 9 to 7 measure. [29]

62% of all A-Level entries were graded at A*/A/B, marking an increase of six per cent from last year. 16 subjects of the 27 offered at Brooke Weston Academy increased their A*/A/B outcomes for students. [30]

2018

85% of Year 11 students secured grades 9 to 4 in English, 85% in maths and 91% in science. The new ‘strong pass’ or grade 5 also saw outcomes of 73% attained in English, 69% in mathematics and 82% in science. 32% of all grades were awarded A*/A, or the new equivalent 9 to 7 measure, and over 8% achieved the new ‘A**’ grade 9 with 126 grades awarded across all subjects. [31]

81% of A-Level students achieved A*-C across all subjects and 53% of all entries were graded at A*/A/B at A Level only. Nine subjects increased their A*/A/B outcomes for students in comparison to last year. [32]

2019

86% of Year 11 students secured grades 9 to 4 in English and 87% in Mathematics. The new ‘strong pass’ or grade 5 also saw outcomes of 72% in English and 73% in Mathematics. Almost a third of all grades were awarded 9 to 7 Grades. Over 40% of students achieved the English Baccalaureate at Grade 5 or above, more than double the national average. [33]

85% of A-Level students achieved A*-C and almost 60% of all entries were graded at A*/A/B. [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GCSE</span> British public examinations, generally taken aged 15-16

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nailsea School</span> Academy in England

Nailsea School, located in Nailsea, North Somerset, England, is a mixed secondary school and sixth form. It has Technology and Media Arts College specialist school status, and became an academy on 1 September 2012. Academy status means Nailsea School now receives funding directly from the government, where before it was funded by the local authority, however the daily running of the school stays much the same.

Amersham School is a mixed secondary school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. In September 2011, the school became an Academy. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 and has approximately 1020 pupils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsdale Foundation School</span> Academy in Southwark, London, England

Kingsdale Foundation School (KFS) is a British mixed secondary school with academy status in West Dulwich, London, with an age range of 11–19 (Year 7 to sixth form). Admissions to the school are coordinated by the Southwark London Borough Council as part of the Pan London Admissions Arrangements. However, many students live in surrounding boroughs, such as Lambeth, Lewisham and Croydon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bourne End Academy</span> Academy in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England

Bourne End Academy, is a co-educational secondary school in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England. It is a secondary school, which takes pupils from the age of 11 to 18. The school is a smaller than an average secondary school, with just over 800 pupils attending every year.

The E-ACT Burnham Park Academy was a co-educational academy in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England until it closed in 2019 due to falling pupil numbers. A small part of the campus is located in neighbouring Slough, Berkshire. The academy was sponsored by E-ACT, and had approximately 235 pupils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Henry Box School</span> Academy in Witney, Oxfordshire, England

The Henry Box School is a secondary school with academy status located in Witney in Oxfordshire, England. The school has a catchment area of the town of Witney and many surrounding villages such as Ducklington and Aston. It has approximately 1400 students, aged 11–18. The Latin motto of the Henry Box School is Studio Floremus, which can be translated as 'By study we flourish'. In the school's most recent inspection, Ofsted judged the school to be "good".

Manor Croft Academy is a smaller than average coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the town of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England.

Paddington Academy is a non-selective co-educational secondary school and academy located in Maida Vale in the borough of Westminster and the ceremonial county of London, England. Established in September 2006, it is run by United Learning, formerly known as United Church Schools Trust. It was officially opened by The Princess Royal on 19 March 2009 at 9 am.

The A level, is a main school leaving qualification of the General Certificate of Education in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is available as an alternative qualification in other countries, where it is similarly known as an A-Level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hall Academy</span> Academy in Harlow, Essex, England

Mark Hall Academy, formerly Mark Hall Specialist Sport College, is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in Harlow, Essex, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winton Academy</span> 11–16 boys academy in Bournemouth, Dorset, England

Winton Academy is an 11-16 boys secondary school located in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. By December 2018, a total of 774 boys were enrolled at the school. The current Head Teacher, Leon Lima, is the head of both Winton Academy and the separate girl's school, Glenmoor, both part of the United Learning trust.

The Dover Christ Church Academy, previously known as Archers Court Secondary School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Whitfield, Kent, 4 miles north of Dover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponteland High School</span> Academy in Ponteland, Northumberland, England

Ponteland High School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Ponteland, Northumberland, England. It has had academy status since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Clarkson Academy</span> Academy in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England

Thomas Clarkson Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England. A new school building has been constructed that was designed by Ken Shuttleworth and Make Architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SET Beccles School</span> Free school in Beccles, Suffolk, England

SET Beccles School is a coeducational secondary free school located in Beccles in the English county of Suffolk.

Whitburn Church of England Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Whitburn, South Tyneside. Its motto is "Excellence for all". The academy was known as Whitburn Comprehensive School before moving and receiving major upgrades funded by the Church of England. It has specialist status in maths and computing and is a national teaching school.

Abbeywood Community School is a mixed secondary school located in the Stoke Gifford area of South Gloucestershire, England. Abbeywood Community School opened in 2010, replacing Filton High School, which previously occupied the site. Abbeywood’s governing body is the Olympus academy trust.

SET Saxmundham School is a free school in Saxmundham, Suffolk, East Anglia, with approximately 222 pupils. It opened in 2012, replacing Saxmundham Middle School, with 105 pupils out of a total of 312 places available. It was rated "good" by Ofsted in May 2014. In March 2018 Ofsted carried out a short inspection of the school where it maintained its "good" rating. In a full inspection by Ofsted in January 2022 it was rated "inadequate". In June 2023 the Seckford Education Trust announced it would be closing the school in August 2024.

The Progress 8 benchmark is an accountability measure used by the government of the United Kingdom to measure the effectiveness of secondary schools in England. It bands pupils into groups based on their scores in English and mathematics during the Key Stage 2 SATs. In GCSE results, six EBacc subjects are chosen, in addition to English and Maths, and each grade is converted to points on an arbitrary scale published by the government for that cohort. English and mathematics are worth double points and all points are added together. This is also known as the Attainment 8 score.

References

  1. "Home - Brooke Weston Academy".
  2. "SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM". Brooke Weston Trust. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Performance Results for Brooke Weston CTC". BBC News. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
  4. "Brooke Weston Academy - GOV.UK". www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  5. "Brooke Weston Academy - GOV.UK". www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  6. "Ofsted Inspection Report for Brooke Weston Academy". January 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. "Our Sponsors - Prospectus : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  8. "Queen's Birthday 2006 Honours List". 23 June 2006. Archived from the original on 18 January 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
  9. "Corby principal knighted for services to education". BBC News. 11 June 2011.
  10. "@tain Online Curriculum and Materials". www.atain.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  11. "News - DT department refurbishment: Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  12. "Vice-Principal Brands Charity Fund-Raising Pyjama Day A 'Paedophile's Paradise'". HuffPost UK. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  13. "Former Corby teacher pleads guilty to possessing child abuse images". www.northantstelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  14. "Former Corby teacher jailed for possessing and distributing indecent images of children". www.northantstelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  15. "English Schools Tables 2007 - Brooke Weston CTC". BBC News. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
  16. "Performance results for Brooke Weston Academy". BBC News. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  17. "News - 100% of BW pupils achieve five or more good GCSEs for 8th year running! : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  18. "News - We celebrate our best-ever A Level results : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  19. "News - Exceptional GCSE results at Brooke Weston : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  20. "News - Another year of A Level success at Brooke Weston : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 "News - Students celebrate GCSE results at Brooke Weston Academy : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  22. "News - Students celebrate GCSE results at Brooke Weston : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  23. "News - A Level success for pupils : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  24. "News - A Level results 2014 : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  25. "GCSE RESULTS: Brooke Weston Academy, Corby". www.northantstelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  26. "News - Best ever A Level examination results : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  27. "News - Students celebrate GCSE results 2016 : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  28. "News - Another successful year of Post-16 results at Brooke Weston : Brooke Weston". www.brookeweston.org. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  29. "STUDENTS CELEBRATE GCSE RESULTS 2017". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  30. "BROOKE WESTON CELEBRATES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR OF POST-16 RESULTS". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  31. "TWO TRUST ACADEMIES CELEBRATE BEST-EVER RESULTS". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  32. "ACADEMY CELEBRATES ANOTHER YEAR OF A LEVEL SUCCESS!". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  33. "BWA CELEBRATES GCSE RESULTS 2019". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  34. "BWA CELEBRATES BEST-EVER EXAM RESULTS". www.brookeweston.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.