Alec Hunter Academy (formerly The Alec Hunter County Secondary School for Boys and Girls, Alec Hunter Comprehensive School, Alec Hunter High School and Alec Hunter Humanities College) is a
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 ...
with
academy status located in East
Braintree,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, England.
History
The school opened as a
technical school
A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocationa ...
in 1959, and it was named after the
weaver
Weaver or Weavers may refer to:
Activities
* A person who engages in weaving fabric
Animals
* Various birds of the family Ploceidae
* Crevice weaver spider family
* Orb-weaver spider family
* Weever (or weever-fish)
Arts and entertainmen ...
and
textile design
Textile design, also known as textile geometry, is the creative and technical process by which thread or yarn fibers are interlaced to form a piece of Textile, cloth or Textile, fabric, which is subsequently printed upon or otherwise adorned. Texti ...
er
Alec Hunter (died 1958). It had become a
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
college by 2009, when the school celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In that year, local historian David Possee was writing a book on the history of the school when he died;
however Braintree Museum hosted an exhibition about the school.
In 2013 the school converted to an Academy by joining Saffron Academy Trust and is now part of a group of schools/academies, Saffron Academy Trust.
Inspection judgements
As of 2021, the school's most recent
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 ...
judgement was in 2017, when it was judged Good overall.
Notable former pupils
*
Keith Flint
Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer and a vocalist of the Electronic dance music, electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist an ...
, dancer and vocalist of the big beat band
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured
Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
*
Liam Howlett
Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, DJ, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band the Prodigy.
Early years
Liam Paul Paris Howlett was born on 21 August 1971 in Braint ...
, member of the British band The Prodigy, occasional DJ, and record producer
*
Andy Overall, vocalist and songwriter of band
Blue Zoo
Blue Zoo are an English new wave band, active between 1980 and 1985, and again since 2010.
Career
Formed in 1980, their original band name was Modern Jazz, and they released two singles titled "In My Sleep (I Shoot Sheep)" and "Ivory Towers" ...
References
Further reading
* (Contains information on the history of the Alec Hunter School)
External links
* (Background and life of Alec Hunter)
{{Coord, 51.8728, 0.5745, type:edu_region:GB, display=title
1959 establishments in England
Academies in Essex
Educational institutions established in 1959
Secondary schools in Essex
Braintree, Essex