George Dixon Academy

George Dixon Academy

[[File:George Dixon academy

Centre.jpg|180px]]
Established 1906
Type Academy
Headteacher Anthony Hamilton
Founder George Dixon
Location City Road
Edgbaston
Birmingham
West Midlands
B16 9GD
England
Coordinates: 42°27′03″N 1°55′25″W / 42.4507°N 1.9237°W / 42.4507; -1.9237
Local authority Birmingham
DfE number 330/5412
DfE URN 138695 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Staff 80 (approx.)
Students 1000+
Ages 11–18
Colours          
Website www.georgedixonacademy.com

George Dixon Academy is a comprehensive secondary school in Birmingham, England, which, until September 2012, was named "George Dixon International School and Sixth Form Centre".[1][2] George Dixon is considered an inner-city school,[3] and many of its students are immigrants and refugees.[4][5][6]

History

1820-1898

George Dixon (1820 – 24 January 1898) was a councillor, mayor, and MP in Birmingham.[7] One of his first actions after being elected mayor in 1866 was to hold a conference to discuss the lack of education for children. This led to the formation of the Birmingham Education Society, and, by 1869, the National Education League which was chaired by Dixon. The League in turn was instrumental in the creation of the Elementary Education Act 1870 (Forster's Act), leading to the formation of the first school boards in England and Wales.

In 1884, Dixon created Bridge Street Technical School. He bought the old Cadbury's premises, and converted it to a school at his own expense. It taught science and mechanics to 400 boys for two years beyond normal school-leaving age. In 1888 the school was moved to occupy the Oozells Street Board School building, renamed George Dixon Higher Grade School in 1888, and began to include girls.[8] [9] In 1906 the school was rebuilt[10] and renamed once again as George Dixon School after its founder.[11][12] The new school building included a gymnasium.[13]

In 2002, headteacher Sir Robert Dowling was knighted for "services to special needs education".[14]

The school was rebuilt using funds from the Birmingham City Council's Building Schools for the Future Programme. In September 2012 the school converted to academy status and was renamed George Dixon Academy.

In popular culture

The television character Dixon of Dock Green may have been named after George Dixon. The character first appeared in the film The Blue Lamp, produced by a former pupil of the school, Michael Balcon.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Birmingham school ratings: George Dixon International School and Sixth Form Centre, Edgbaston". Birmingham Mail, 28 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Gerald Haigh (11 December 2007). Inspirational Û and Cautionary Û Tales for Would-be School Leaders. Routledge. pp. 22–. ISBN 978-1-134-07235-4.
  3. ↑ David Hustler (1 November 1995). Heeding heads: secondary heads and educational commentators in dialogue. David Fulton Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85346-358-7.
  4. ↑ Parkinson, Justin. "The art of making a school happy ". BBC News.
  5. ↑ Barry Sheerman; Great Britain. Parliament House of Commons. Children, Schools and Families Committee (February 2010). Looked-After Children: Third Report of Session 2008-2009. The Stationery Office. pp. 193–. ISBN 978-0-215-52968-8.
  6. ↑ Ofsted Inspection Report (2010) p.3 (prior to closure of George Dixon International School and Sixth Form Centre). Accessed 4 August 2015
  7. ↑ The Journal of Education. W. Stewart & Company. 1912.
  8. 1 2 History of the Academy: Who was George Dixon? at official website. Accessed 4 August 2015
  9. ↑ Patricia Potts (18 October 2013). Inclusion in the City: Selection, Schooling and Community. Taylor & Francis. pp. 23–. ISBN 978-1-136-45248-2.
  10. ↑ Michael Balcon (1969). Michael Balcon presents ... a lifetime of films. Hutchinson.
  11. ↑ School Government Chronicle and Education Authorities' Gazette: An Educational Record and Review. 1907.
  12. ↑ The Westminster Review. Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy. 1911.
  13. ↑ Thierry Terret; J. A. Mangan (13 September 2013). Sport, Militarism and the Great War - Terret: Martial Manliness and Armageddon. Routledge. pp. 271–. ISBN 978-1-135-76088-5.
  14. ↑ Head 'bowled over' by top honour. BBC News, 14 June 2002. Accessed 4 August 2015

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 31, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.