Airedale Academy (formerly known as Airedale High School) is a secondary school and sixth form on ''Crewe Road'' in a suburb of
Castleford
Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...
in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
, England. Castleford Academy Trust recently merged with Northern Ambition Academies Trust. Castleford Academy Trust now has 9 schools. 3 secondary Academies and 6 Primary.
Admissions
It teaches children from 11–16. It was recently given the status of
Arts College
An Arts College, in the United Kingdom, is a type of specialist school that specialises in the subject fields of the performing, visual, digital and/or media arts. They were announced in 1996 and introduced alongside Sports Colleges to En ...
for its
performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...
.
History
In February 1995, the school suffered its first
arson
Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
attack, in which a large teaching block was lost.
In June 2003, arsonists burnt down part of the lower school, causing £1 million of damage. The refurbishment after the fire was officially opened in September 2005.
Another arson attack occurred on 17 January 2006. Around 100 firefighters attended the blaze. It destroyed three drama studios and the upper school's main hall. A new state of the art Drama department and theatre (Castleford Phoenix Theatre) was officially opened in October 2008.
In the academic year 2011–12, Airedale Academy took its first cohort of sixth form students in at
AS Level.
In late 2011, Principal, Paul Frazer, left and, Michaela Blackledge took his place.
In early 2016, Principal, Micheala Blackledge, left and, Elizabeth Fairhurst took her place.
In 2019, Elizabeth Fairhurst took up the role of CEO of the Trust and Lyndsey Proctor took her place as Principal.
In 2023, Lyndsey Proctor left her role as Principal and Dan Neal took her place as the Interim Principal.
In 2024 Cheryl Eastwood was promoted internally to Head of School, on an interim basis.
Academic performance
In 2008 the school received a rating of Grade 2 (Good) from
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 ...
.
Castleford Phoenix Theatre
Th
Castleford Phoenix Theatre(at Airedale Academy), is West Yorkshire's latest Performing Art's, conference and education centre.
Academy status
The school has been granted academy status and converted on 1 April 2011.
Sixth Form
In the academic year 2011–12, Airedale Academy opened a satellite sixth form of
Ossett Academy. The five main study areas are, Business Studies, English Literature, Performing Arts, ICT, and Health & Social Care.
References
External links
School webpageCastleford Phoenix theatre
News items
Arrests over arson in January 2006Fire in January 20062006 fire
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Academies in the City of Wakefield
Castleford
Secondary schools in the City of Wakefield
School buildings in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson