The Telford Langley 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 ...

with academy status, located in the

Dawley Dawley ( ) is a former mining town and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It was originally proposed be the main centre of the 'Dawley New Town' plan in 1963, however it was decided in 1968 to name the new ...

area of

Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its predecessor, Dawley Modern School, was opened at Pool Hill on 17 September 1956 by Mr George Chetwood, to take children over 11 from four contributory primary schools; there were c. 500 pupils on the roll. By 1965 when comprehensive secondary education was introduced the school was renamed the Phoenix Comprehensive School (its name coming from idea that it 'rose from the ashes' of its predecessor). The number of pupils had risen to 1,159 by 1980. The main hall, canteen, and gymnasium, were destroyed in an

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

attack on 29 December 1995. The school was at one point in

special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. In education (England and Wales) Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...

, but standards have improved to the point where in 2007 the school gained a 'good'

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 ...

report. The report noted that

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 ...

A*-C rates were below the national average but the school was commended for the high amount of progress pupils made between Year 7 and 11. The school converted to academy status on 1 June 2013, and was renamed Phoenix Academy. The school became part of the Telford Co-operative Multi-Academy Trust. The school was moved from Manor Road to Duce Drive at the site of Paddock Mount in September 2013 though the redevelopment of the mount was controversial. In June 2010 a Hollywood-style sign for Dawley was erected on a prominent slope of the mount in protest. The school was placed in special measures again in April 2015, and changed to a new academy sponsor in September 2015, the Community Academies Trust. As a result of the measures, the school was subject to a re-branding which included changes in staff, uniform, and name. In September 2015, the Phoenix Academy was changed to The Telford Langley School. However, the school was removed from special measures in March 2019. In September 2021, additions to the existing school building and the construction of a new building finished. This was done as a part of Telford and Wrekin Council's 'Building Schools for the Future' program which put £200 million into upgrading and expanding existing Secondary Schools in the borough, £31 million of which were put into the school. In July 2022, then-Headteacher Mr Steve Carter retired and Mrs Emma Blount (then-Deputy Headteacher) was appointed as the new Headteacher starting from September of that year.

References

External links

*
'Dawley: Education', A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 11: Telford (1985), pp. 133–135
Date accessed: 11 November 2009 Secondary schools in Telford and Wrekin Academies in Telford and Wrekin Schools in Telford {{Shropshire-school-stub