Dixons City Academy is 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 ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

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. The school was founded in 1990 as Dixons

City Technology College In England, a City Technology College (CTC) is an urban all-ability specialist schoolWalter (2007), p. 6 for students aged 11 to 18 specialising in science, technology and mathematics. They charge no fees and are independent of local authority ...

which focused on a specialism of

design and technology Design and Technology (D&T) is a school subject taught in the United Kingdom to pupils in primary and secondary schools. It first appeared as a titled subject in the first National Curriculum for England in 1990. It has undergone several reviews w ...

and

product design Product design is the process of creating new Product (business), products for businesses to sell to their customers. It involves the generation and development of ideas through a systematic process that leads to the creation of innovative products ...

. In 2005, the school converted into an

and changed its name to Dixons City Academy. With the change of name was a change of focus as the school became a specialist

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 ...

school which allows it to select 10% of admissions purely based on ability in this field. In November 2018, the school was judged "outstanding", in an

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 ...

inspection.

Dixons Academies Trust

The school founded the Dixons Academies Charitable Trust, Ltd. Founding principal Sir John Lewis retired from the school in 2006 and was succeeded by Sir Nick Weller. Weller became Executive Principal in September 2011 when Dixons took over the former Rhodesway School in Allerton, Bradford. His deputy Shirley Watson then became the principal. Sir Nick Weller became CEO of the Dixons Academies Trust as it expanded, with Shirley Watson later becoming one of two Executive Directors (along with Luke Sparkes, former Principal of one of Dixons' highest performing schools: Dixons Trinity Academy, and four Executive Principals: Wesley Davies of Dixons McMillan; Michelle Long of Dixons Music Primary; Neil Miley of Dixons Kings; Clare Skelding of Dixons Allerton). Sir Nick was made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

for services to education in 2015, and his report to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

and the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

on schools in the

Northern Powerhouse The Northern Powerhouse was a proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England by the 2010–2015 coalition government and 2015–2016 Conservative government in the United Kingdom, particularly in the " Core Cities" of Hull, Manches ...

region was published in November 2016. Michael Feely, former Deputy Headteacher at Our Lady's Convent Roman Catholic High School in London and England Youth international football player, was appointed as Principal of DCA in September 2018, leading the academy to a successful "Outstanding" Ofsted report 2 months later. In February 2020, the Trust was ranked second best performing in the country on the DfE's Progress 8 measure at 0.72, just 0.02 behind the lead MAT: Star Academies Trust of Blackburn.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1990 establishments in England academies in the City of Bradford educational institutions established in 1990 former city technology colleges schools in Bradford secondary schools in the City of Bradford