Ipswich Academy (formerly ''Holywells High School'') is a mixed

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 ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

for students aged 11 to 16. Since September 2010, it has been an

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. It has the capacity for over 1,300 students but had around 900 as of 2021. It has a large sports complex and a large multipurpose sports pitch.It has a large indoor sports facility. It also has a main area with a library with a

Sixth Form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

block, and it is building new ball game courts on one of the surrounding fields.

History

In September 2010, ''Holywells High School'' become an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, originally ran by the Learning Schools Trust, and was renamed Ipswich Academy. In September 2015, Paradigm Trust - a multi-academy trust formed in September 2013 - took over operation of the academy. Paradigm Trust was formed with a very simple ethos: it is that every child is entitled to an outstanding education, with equal access to knowledge, skills, opportunities, aspirations, life chances and dignity. It aims to provide this in many ways to every child at the schools in the Trust; leading with a well-planned and taught curriculum, in an environment where the safety and well-being of pupils are paramount. Ipswich academy was rebuilt and reopened on the Gainsbrough estate on the 29th September 2013 by the education secretary at the time

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist who served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rish ...

As an open plan school, but this was changed shortly after due to noise issues. Paridigm Trust took over the school in 2015 after a series of damning

ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

reports, and leading to the later collapse of the learning schools trust. In 2019, Ipswich academy received a ‘Good’ rated report from ofsted after years of improvement, and soon after a new principal, Abbie Thorrington, a professional

Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

competitor, took over.

References

External links

School homepage
Academies in Suffolk Secondary schools in Suffolk Schools in Ipswich Gainsborough District, Suffolk {{Suffolk-school-stub