Bradford Academy, West Yorkshire
| Established | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | Academy |
| Religion | Christian |
| Headteacher | Gareth Dawkins |
| Location |
Teasdale Street Bradford West Yorkshire BD4 7QJ England Coordinates: 53°46′34″N 1°43′56″W / 53.776°N 1.7321°W |
| Local authority | City of Bradford |
| DfE number | ???/6906 |
| DfE URN | 135367 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1100 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 3–18 |
| Houses | Franklin, Wilberforce, Tutu, Pankhurst, Hawking, Malala |
| Former name | Fairfax Grammar School |
| Website | Bradford Academy |
Bradford Academy is a new Christian-sponsored Academy school in south-east Bradford. It has grown rapidly and now has around 1800 pupils.
Admissions
It is situated in the East Bowling District of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is adjacent to west side of the dual-carriageway Wakefield Road (A650), north of the ring road (A6117) interchange at Dudley Hill. Further to the south is Bolling Special School. Bradford Academy is owned by local churches and it is founded by the government and the government gets money from the tax payers. They are sponsored by the Diocese of Bradford, the Academy has developed Citizenship with Enterprise as the specialism.
Their ambition is for at least 60% of their students to gain five good GCSEs, ensuring they are in the top 5% of similar schools nationally.
History
It opened its doors to its first pupils on 9 September 2007. It was officially opened in April 2008 by Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.
Former schools
It is based on the site of Bradford Cathedral Community College which was a voluntary-aided school on Lister Avenue for ages 11–18. This was on the site of Fairfax Grammar School, opened in 1963 on Lister Avenue off Wakefield Road which became Fairfax School then Fairfax Community School. In the early 1970s it had around 1,100 boys and girls aged 13–18.
In 1993 Fairfax Community School had the seventh worst truancy rate in England with 12.7% half-days, and in 1996 the worst truancy record in England with 12.6% of half-days lost to truancy. In September 1994, because of truancy, it was recommended by OFSTED to close the school down but it won a reprieve in the November. In 1996 it became Bowling Community College, then Bradford Cathedral Community College in 2000 - a C of E school.[1]
In 2001, the Bradford Cathedral Community College had the fourth worst GCSE results in England, and in 2004 had the seventh worst truancy in England with 7.7% of half-days, and in 2006, 8% of GCSE results had at least 5 A-C passes including English and Maths, and it was recommended to close the school down. From 2002-4 had been put into special measures.
Academic performance
Although results have improved each year since opening. The Academy hopes to go through the floor target of 35% in 2011.