coeducational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
located in
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
,
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
History
Primary education in Weston-super-Mare adopted the Comprehensive system in 1971. Broadoak School was formed by the amalgamation of the Boys' and Girls' Grammar Schools together with Uphill primary Modern School. Notable former pupils of the grammar school include
Hugh Dykes
Hugh John Maxwell Dykes, Baron Dykes, (born 17 May 1939) is a British politician and member of the House of Lords. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1997, and later defected to the Liberal Democrats.
Family a ...
Nigel Hess
Nigel John Hess (born 22 July 1953) is a British composer, best known for his television, theatre and film soundtracks, including the theme tunes to '' Campion'', ''Maigret'', '' Wycliffe'', '' Dangerfield'', '' Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', ...
, a composer best known for his television, theatre and film soundtracks; Richard Hearsey, a TV producer, writer and director best known for ''Game For A Laugh'', ''You Bet'' and ''It's A Knockout''; and Brian Rose, former
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Somer ...
and England cricketer.
The grammar became a
comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
in 1971,
when it also admitted girls and changed its name to Broadoak. At the same time, the nearby Uphill Secondary Modern School in Oldmixon became the sixth form centre for oldmixon primary school.
Following a decline in student numbers, the sixth form was taken over by
Weston College
Weston College of Further and Higher Education is a general college of further and higher education in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It provides education and vocational training from age 14 to adult. The college provided educa ...
in 1999.
The old grammar school buildings were demolished and replaced by a new school building in 1999. The former sixth form centre was demolished by Weston College in 2006. It was replaced by a new university and sixth form campus, which included the ''Jill Dando Centre'', named after Broadoak sixth form student and head girl
Jill Dando
Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, he ...
.
In the 2002–2003 academic year the headteacher of
The Kings of Wessex School
The Kings of Wessex Academy, formerly known as the Kings of Wessex School, is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Cheddar, Somerset, England. In 2015, it had 1,176 pupils aged 13 to 18, of both sexes and all ability levels includi ...
local education authority
Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...
, after the school's governors lost control of their budget in March 2002, when they reached a £250,000 deficit.
Broadoak became a
specialist school
Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...
in September 2005 and changed its name to Broadoak Mathematics and Computing College.
Previously a community school administered by
North Somerset Council
North Somerset Council is the local authority of North Somerset, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a count ...
, in February 2012 Broadoak Mathematics and Computing College converted to academy status. In July 2019 the school was formally renamed as Broadoak Academy, and is now sponsored by the Cabot Learning Federation.
Academic achievement
In 2023 Ofsted rated the school as “Good”.
In 2007, the school was given the
Artsmark
Artsmark is the quality standard for culture and creativity in schools and education settings, awarded by Arts Council England. The Artsmark award provides a clear framework for teachers and education professionals to plan, develop and evaluat ...
award by the
Arts Council England
Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...