The Taunton Academy

Last updated

Pyrland School
Address
The Taunton Academy
Cheddon Road

, ,
TA2 7QP

England
Coordinates 51°02′15″N3°06′01″W / 51.0375°N 3.1003°W / 51.0375; -3.1003
Information
Type Academy
Religious affiliation(s) Church of England
EstablishedSeptember 2010
Department for Education URN 136193 Tables
Ofsted Reports
HeadLisa Webber
GenderCo-educational
Age11to 16
Enrolment728
Colour(s)Black, grey and purple
Academy sponsors Richard Huish College
Website https://www.thetauntonacademy.co.uk

Pyrland School (formerly The Taunton Academy [1] ) is a school with academy status in Taunton, Somerset, England. [2] The school was formed by the merger of The St Augustine of Canterbury Church of England/Roman Catholic VA School and Ladymead Community School. [3] Its original sponsors were Somerset County Council and the Diocese of Bath and Wells, however the school transferred to the Richard Huish Trust in 2015 and is now sponsored by Richard Huish College. [4] It was opened on 9 September 2010 by Peter Price, the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Initially the academy admitted pupils aged 11 to 16 and will be based in the existing schools' buildings. In September 2011, the academy opened a sixth form for 100 students. In 2013, the academy moved to new and refurbished buildings on the former Ladymead site on Cheddon Road, with the former St Augustine site being closed. [5] This plan was temporarily put on hold following the government's major review of the Building Schools for the Future programme in July 2010, [6] and was subject to review by the Department for Education. [7] [8]

Contents

History

The expression of interest to become an academy was submitted by the sponsors to the Department for Children, Schools and Families in February 2009. [9] The submission document confirmed that both schools had a set of problems. St Augustine had 274 pupils on roll against its capacity of 610, was in the lowest band for deprivation with 21.2% of pupils receiving free school meals against the local authority average of 7.9%, had 38% of pupils achieving five or more GCSE qualifications including English and Mathematics against the local authority average of 46.7% and national average of 47%, and for three years between 2006 and 2009 had set deficit budgets of between 8% and 14%. [9] Ladymead had 746 pupils on roll against a capacity of 880, had 11.4% of pupils receiving free school meals, and had 41% of pupils achieving five or more GCSE qualifications including English and Mathematics. [9]

The application was approved by education minister Jim Knight in March 2009. [3] By June 2009, the plans looked to be under threat as parental consultation by governors at Ladymead showed strong opposition to the new academy. [10] However, the final go-ahead was given in January 2010, when the government agreed to the academy's funding. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somerset</span> County in South West England

Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taunton</span> County town of Somerset, England

Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the Bishops of Winchester. Parts of the inner ward house were turned into the Museum of Somerset and Somerset Military Museum. For the Second Cornish uprising of 1497, Perkin Warbeck brought an army of 6,000; most surrendered to Henry VII on 4 October 1497. On 20 June 1685 in Taunton the Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England in a rebellion, defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Judge Jeffreys led the Bloody Assizes in the Castle's Great Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keynsham</span> Town and civil parish in Somerset, England

Keynsham is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It had a population of 19,603 at the 2021 Census. It was listed in the Domesday Book as Cainesham, which is believed to mean the home of Saint Keyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Petersfield School</span> Academy, secondary school in Petersfield, Hampshire, England

The Petersfield School (TPS) is located in Petersfield, Hampshire, in southern England. The school opened on 20 June 1958 and remains the only state-funded secondary school in Petersfield. It received Arts College status in September 2004, and became an academy in July 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langport</span> Human settlement in England

Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 km) west of Somerton. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 3,578. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate parish that includes much of the town's outskirts.

The Kings of Wessex Academy, formerly known as the Kings of Wessex School, is a coeducational secondary school located in Cheddar, Somerset, England. As of 2015, it had 1,176 students aged 13 to 18, of all genders and all ability levels including 333 in the sixth form. In November 2016, the academy became part of the Wessex Learning Trust which incorporated eight academies from the surrounding area. Kings is a Church of England school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Edward's School, Bath</span> Private day school in Bath, Somerset, England

King Edward's School (KES), Bath, Somerset, England is an independent co-educational day school providing education for 1,134 pupils aged 3 to 18. The school is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Huish College, Taunton</span> School in Taunton, Somerset, England

Richard Huish College is a further education and sixth-form college in Taunton, Somerset, England. Located on a single site in South Road, about a mile from the centre of Taunton, it offers A-level courses, apprenticeships and vocational courses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taunton School</span> Public school in Somerset, England

Taunton School is a co-educational independent school in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18.

St Michael's Catholic School is a Catholic all-through school located in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. In 2023 the school had 1930 pupils. It enrols children aged 3 through 19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bath Community Academy</span> Secondary academy in Bath, Bath and North East Somerset, England

Bath Community Academy (2012–2018), formerly Culverhay School (1956–2012), was a secondary school in the Odd Down area of Bath, England. Built as a boys' school, it became mixed-sex in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooke Weston Academy</span> Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom

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. The value added score for Key Stage 5 is below average nationally, but slightly higher than the Northamptonshire average. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgwater and Taunton College</span> School in Bridgwater, Somerset, England

Bridgwater and Taunton College is a further education college based in the heart of Somerset, England, with main centres in Bridgwater, Taunton and Cannington. It educates approximately 3000 students between the ages of 16–18 in academic and vocational programmes in addition to several thousand part-time or mature students. The college was founded in 1973, although the history of its predecessor institutions dates to 1891.

Bath, Somerset has a large number of educational establishments for a city of its size. It has two universities, a further education college and five private schools as well as state-funded school provision. The state-funded schools are organised within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladymead Community School</span> Comprehensive school in Taunton, Somerset, England

Ladymead Community School was a secondary school and technology college located on Cheddon Road, Taunton, Somerset, England. It had 753 students aged 11–16.

The St Augustine of Canterbury School was a joint Church of England and Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided (VA) secondary school in Taunton, Somerset, England. It was established on 28 May 1956 and closed on July 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadoak Academy</span> Academy in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England

Broadoak Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St George's Academy</span> School in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England

St George's Academy is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school based in the English market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, with a satellite school at nearby Ruskington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berry Hill High School and Sports College</span> Community school in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England

Berry Hill High School and Sports College was a mixed, secondary school in Berry Hill, Stoke-on-Trent, one of the two predecessors to St Peter's Academy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrland Hall</span>

Pyrland Hall is a country house near Cheddon Fitzpaine in the English county of Somerset. It is a Grade II* listed building.

References

  1. https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/23663451.taunton-academy-renamed-pyrland-school-september/
  2. "In depth: New schools in Somerset". BBC News. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Academy plan clears major hurdle". BBC News. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  4. "The Taunton Academy Vice Principal" (PDF). Diocese of Bath and Wells. April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  5. 1 2 Hill, Phil (20 January 2010). "Taunton Academy gets Government go-ahead". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  6. "Somerset schools boss has hopes' for axed projects". BBC News. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  7. "Major review of Building Schools for the Future – schools most in need targeted". Department for Education. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  8. "Impact on BSF schools by local authority" (MS Word). Department for Education . Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 "The Taunton Academy, Somerset, Expression of interest" (PDF). Department for Children, Schools and Families. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  10. Hill, Phil (30 June 2009). "North Taunton Academy — Ladymead and St Augustine's split over plans". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved 25 June 2010.