Countesthorpe Academy (formerly Countesthorpe Leysland Community College) is a

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 situated on the western edge of

Countesthorpe Countesthorpe is a large village and civil parish in the Leicestershire district of Blaby, with a population of 6,393 (2001 census, falling slightly to 6,377 at the 2011 census. It lies to the south of Leicester, and is about from the city ce ...

in Leicestershire, England near the A426.

History

Countesthorpe Leysland Community College was formed in 2016 by the merger of Countesthorpe Community College and neighbouring Leysland High School. Countesthorpe Community College was established in 1970 with Tim McMullen as its first head, or warden, followed in 1972 by John Watts as head teacher. They both developed it as a progressive "open school". The school previously formed part of The South Leicestershire Learning Partnership, a multi-academy umbrella trust. In March 2020 the school joined the LIFE Multi-Academy Trust and was renamed Countesthorpe Academy, and is now led by Executive Head Gareth Williams.

Facilities

The school occupies the buildings previously used by its predecessor institutions. The former Countesthorpe Community College buildings are notable for their circular plan. The architect was John Barton of Farmer and Dark. The sculpture that was previously in the middle of the courtyard is one of three versions of ''Dunstable Reel'' by Phillip King. The seniors department of Birkett House School is located on the site of Countesthorpe Academy and its students attend lessons at the school and use its sports and catering facilities.

Concerns and criticisms

In July 2019 Countesthorpe Leysland Community College was judged to be "inadequate" by Ofsted. During the inspection, inspectors found serious failings in safeguarding and pupil well being, they discovered that many students feel unsafe at school, found poor behaviour exhibited by a significant group of pupils and they identified shortcomings in the quality of leadership offered by the senior leadership team. Concerns were also raised about the poor quality of toilet facilities available at the college, which have since been refurbished which was reported in both local and national media.

Notable former pupils

*The band members of

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Ka ...

are ex-students of the school. The school is mentioned by name in the BBC comedy series '' Big School'', in series two, episode four, during a question and answer session about Kasabian. *

Harvey Barnes Harvey Lewis Barnes (born 9 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Leicester City. Early life Barnes was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and brought up in Countesthorpe, Leicestershire. He is the s ...

, professional footballer *

Pete Morton Pete Morton (born 30 July 1964) is an English folk singer-songwriter who lives in London, England. According to ''fRoots'', Morton "is amongst the best that the British roots music scene has produced in living memory."Harris, Craig "Pete Morton ...

, singer songwriter * Kev Reverb, guitarist in

Crazyhead Crazyhead are an English garage punk band from Leicester, England. Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like The Ramones, The Stooges and ...

Wayne Dobson Wayne Dobson (born 5 July 1957, Leicester, England) is an English magician, who became well-known through various television appearances in the late 1980s and 1990s. At the height of his fame he had his own television series ''Wayne Dobson - A K ...

, magician/entertainer *

Mary Byker Ian Garfield Hoxley, known by his stage name Mary Byker (a.k.a. Mary Mary) (born 20 December 1963), is an English singer, record producer and DJ known for his work as the lead singer of Gaye Bykers on Acid, Pop Will Eat Itself, Pigface and Apo ...

, singer of

Gaye Bykers on Acid Gaye Bykers on Acid (GBOA) are an English psychedelic rock band from Leicester, and one of the founder members of the grebo music scene. They later released both thrash punk and dance music albums under various aliases. Personnel * Mary Byk ...

Apollo 440 Apollo 440 (also known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are a British electronic music group formed in Liverpool in 1990. The group has written, recorded, and produced five studio albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as ...

Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the '' In Case You Didn't Fe ...

Hyperhead Hyperhead were a British alternative rock band formed by former Gaye Bykers on Acid singer Mary Mary (aka Ian Garfield Hoxley) in the early 1990s. History After Gaye Bykers on Acid split up, Mary Mary joined Pigface before forming Hyperhead, wh ...

, Rektum and

Pop Will Eat Itself Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorp ...

References

External links