The Farnley Academy (formerly Farnley Park Maths & Computing 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 ...

serving the Farnley, New Farnley and Wortley wards of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

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 forms part of the Gorse Academies Trust which also includes

The Morley Academy The Morley Academy is a mixed secondary school located in Morley, West Yorkshire, England. The school forms part of the Gorse Academies Trust which also includes The Farnley Academy, The Ruth Gorse Academy and the Elliott Hudson College. H ...

The Ruth Gorse Academy The Ruth Gorse Academy is a mixed secondary school located in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The school forms part of the Gorse Academies Trust which also includes The Farnley Academy, The Morley Academy and Elliott Hudson College. Histor ...

and Elliott Hudson College.

History

The Farnley Academy is built on the site of Cow Close Secondary School which became Harrington High, then Farnley Park High and then Farnley Park Maths and Computing College. In 1995, arsonists caused £2 million worth of damage at the school. In 1997, staff and students at the school celebrated the completion of a new school building by burying a time capsule. Between 2010 and 2012, Farnley Park High School was refurbished as a part of the government's

Building Schools for the Future Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. Around half of the work was procured under the private finance initiative. The deli ...

programme. Sections of the school were demolished and rebuilt, with planning permission approved on the condition that new sports pitches and a new changing area were created. The refurbishments cost £23 million in total. In February 2012, the school joined the Gorse Academies Trust and was converted into an academy, becoming The Farnley Academy. The school stopped taking students into its

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 ...

provision in September 2015 due to the opening of Elliott Hudson College, a dedicated sixth form centre.

Facilities

The Farnley Academy shares a site with a centre for children with complex needs, the West SILC. The site opened in February 2012.

Incidents

In November 2019,

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

accused the school of off-rolling Year 11 students into an alternative provision which was also run by the GORSE Academies Trust. This led to an Ofsted inspection, during which it noted that the school 'could not convincingly explain' why it was in the pupils' best interests to move them to the provision, and after which the school received a rating of 'Requires Improvement'. The school returned to an 'Outstanding' rating after an inspection in 2023. In February 2023, a three-day student protest was organised surrounding the school's toilet policies. The school responded by stating that they allow students to use the toilet during lessons where necessary, however they 'strongly encourage' doing so outside of lessons. The protest coincided with the teacher strikes organised by the

National Education Union The National Education Union (NEU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for school teachers, further education lecturers, education support staff and teaching assistants. It was formed by the amalgamation of the National Union of Teachers ...

Notable alumni

Leigh Francis Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973), who is often known by the name of a character he plays, Keith Lemon, is an English television presenter, comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's sketch co ...

, television presenter *

Kalvin Phillips Kalvin Mark Phillips (born 2 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Ipswich Town, on loan from Manchester City, and the England national team. An academy graduate of hometown club ...

, footballer

References

External links

School Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnley Academy Secondary schools in Leeds Academies in Leeds Farnley, Leeds