The Dover Christ Church Academy, previously known as Archers Court Secondary School 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 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 ...

and

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 ...

located in

Whitfield, Kent Whitfield is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Kent. It now forms part of the urban area of the town of Dover. It has a modern counterpart in the large settlement located at the junction of the A2 and A256 ro ...

, 4 miles north of

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

School History

Archers Court Secondary School opened in 1955 as a

Secondary modern A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupils ...

and named after the Knight of Archer's Court manor in the parish of Whitfield. The school was built as a response to growing demand for educational services from new housing estates (Beauxfields, Newlands, Cranleigh Drive, Farncombe Way) in Whitfield and surrounding villages. During the 1980s, a 6th form was introduced in addition to the existing 11–16 curriculum. In 1995, Kent Education Committee upgraded Archers Court from a 'high ability' school for pupils aged 11–16 to 'wide ability' taking pupils up to age 18. In 2002, as part of the

Specialist schools programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

, the school received special status as a Mathematics and Computing College with subsequent extensions to replace temporary accommodation in 2007 and 2008 and new English and Drama blocks. In 2008, with inconsistent levels of achievement at GCSEs at well below the Kent average, it was agreed to convert the school to a government-funded academy. The main driver was a ‘structural solution’ to ensure that the school achieved at least 30% 5 A*-C grades at GCSE level including English and Maths. In 2010, sponsored by

Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a Public university, public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005. ...

and co-sponsored by Dover Grammar School for Boys, Dover Grammar School for Girls and

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

, the school was relaunched as Dover Christ Church Academy and received academy status. In 2014, the school underwent an £11.9 million refurbishment. The new extension included specialist and vocational teaching spaces including science laboratories, hair, beauty, textiles, and catering. The sports hall was extended with remodelled dance and fitness suites, and new changing room facilities. The project was completed in late 2015. In 2017, Dover Christ Church Academy became an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

(IB) World School with the aim to offer the International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme (IBCP) to its 6th form students. In September 2023 the school joined the Turner Schools trust.

Aspen 2

The college has a specialist unit, Aspen 2, that caters to students with profound, severe and complex needs.

Admissions

The school is non-selective and participates in the

Co-ordinated Admission Scheme.

Headteachers

* DE Rawlins, (1955-1975) * John Bates, (1975-1990) * Stuart Alcock, (1990–2002) * Elaine Hamilton, (2002–2010) * Richard Williams, (2010-2012) * Samantha Williamson, (2012-2017) * Jamie McLean, (2017-)

Recent School Inspections

OFSTED rated the school as 3 or "Requires Improvement" on 4 consecutive visits, in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2019.

Academic Results

* A Level In 2018, the school's progress 8 score was rated "Average" by the UK dept of education. The average grade and average points that students achieved per A Level entry was 20.49 (or A Level grade D). * GCSE In 2018, the school's progress 8 score was rated “Well below average” by the UK Dept of education. The number of students entered for the English Baccalaureate (or EBacc) and taking up to 8 GCSEs across 5 "subject pillars" was 8%. Average grade point score for those entered was 2.26 (or legacy GCSE grade E). 10% achieved grade 5 (or legacy GCSE high grade C) and above in English Language and Mathematics.

References

{{authority control Academies in Kent Secondary schools in Kent Educational institutions established in 1955 1955 establishments in England