The Rodillian Academy (formerly Rodillian School) is a mixed

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 ...

with academy status located in Lofthouse,

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 has 1,556 pupils aged between 11 and 18. The school also has Specialist Arts College status. The name 'Rodillian' is derived from the name that was given to former pupils of the Rothwell Grammar School.

History

The school was originally built in 1933 as Rothwell Grammar School to serve the needs of children in Rothwell and the surrounding areas. Edwin Robert Manley was headteacher from 1933 to 1965. He was active in local politics, and he wrote and self-published ''Meet the Miner''. In 2008 it moved into a £93 million building. The school became an academy in summer 2012.

Rodillian Multi Academy Trust

In December 2013 the Rodillian Academy was approved by 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 ...

to become an academy sponsor. The Rodillian Multi Academy Trust was formed in September 2014 with the Rodillian Academy acting as the lead school in the trust that also includes The Featherstone Academy.

Inspections

In the

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 in 2016, the school's overall effectiveness was found to be 'good'. Both the effectiveness of the school's leadership and management and the personal development, behaviour and welfare pupils were judged to be outstanding. , the school's most recent inspection was in 2019, with an outcome of Good.

Buildings

In September 2008, Rodillian moved to a newly built school as part of the Leeds BSF Project. At the new school are a lecture theatre, a library, sporting facilities including fitness centres and gyms, dance halls and PE classrooms. Part of the new build is a children's centre that allows for use of the school's sporting and educational facilities by children up to five years of age.

Rugby

The school's main sport was

Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

Academic performance

In 2023, the school's

Progress 8 benchmark The Progress 8 benchmark is an accountability measure used by the government of the United Kingdom to measure the effectiveness of secondary schools in England. It bands pupils into groups based on their scores in English and mathematics during th ...

was average. 77% of children were entered for the

English Baccalaureate The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

, compared to 42% in the local authority area and 39% nationally. 40% of children achieved grades 5 or higher in English and mathematics

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

Notable alumni

Rothwell Grammar School

Jack Birkenshaw Jack Birkenshaw, (born 13 November 1940) is a former English cricketer, who later stood as an umpire and worked as a coach. Cricket writer Colin Bateman stated, "Jack Birkenshaw was the epitome of a good all-round county cricketer: a probing ...

MBE, cricketer * Richard Newby, Baron Newby OBE, politician, Liberal Democrat peer *

Ian McNaught-Davis Ian McNaught-Davis (30 August 1929 – 10 February 2014) was a British television presenter best known for presenting the BBC television series ''The Computer Programme'', ''Making the Most of the Micro'' and ''Micro Live'' in the 1980s. He was a ...

, mountaineer and broadcaster * Jean Denton, Baroness Denton of Wakefield, racing driver, businesswoman, Conservative government minister * Sir Hugh Fish CBE, chemist responsible for the clean-up of the River Thames

Notable teaching staff

* Harry Gration – journalist & broadcaster, former head of history

References

External links

School website

EduBase

Direct Government Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodillian Academy, The Secondary schools in Leeds Educational institutions established in 1933 Academies in Leeds 1933 establishments in England Rothwell, West Yorkshire