Woodham Academy (simply referred to as Woodham, formerly Woodham Community Technology College and Woodham Comprehensive School) is an 11–16 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 ...

with academy status in

Newton Aycliffe Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham (district), County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act 1946, New Towns Act of 1946, the town is to the north of Darlington and to the south of Durham, England, Durham. It is the ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, England. Established in 1970 as a

foundation school In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the school governor, governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in Community school (England and Wales), community schools. Foundation schools ...

, it adopted its present name after becoming an academy in 2012. It is part of the Eden Learning Trust.

History

Woodham Comprehensive School: 1970 to 1999

Woodham Comprehensive was a

that opened on 29 June 1970 by

Alice Bacon, Baroness Bacon Alice Martha Bacon, Baroness Bacon, (10 September 1909 – 24 March 1993) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician born in Normanton, West Yorkshire. Early life and education Bacon's father was secretary of the Whitwood bran ...

, a former Labour MP. It was built under the

Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme The Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme (CLASP), was formed in 1957 by Local Authority#England, Local Authorities in England to develop a shared prefabricated system for the construction of school buildings. The resulting CLASP build ...

. As well as Woodham and Greenfield schools there was a third secondary school in Newton Aycliffe called "The Avenue Comprehensive" which was closed in 1992 and amalgamated with Woodham. It was created from two former secondary schools; Marlowe Hall Secondary Modern School and Milton Hall. On 4 July 1990, the school was set alight by arsonists. Around a third of the school's teaching area was destroyed and an estimated £1 million of damage was caused. The damaged section of the school was rebuilt and reopened on 12 December 1992.

Woodham Community Technology College: 1999 to 2012

Woodham gained

Technology College In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were 598 ...

status in 1999 and was opened by

Kate Adie Kathryn Adie (born 19 September 1945) is an English journalist. She was Chief News Correspondent for BBC News between 1989 and 2003, during which time she reported from war zones around the world. She retired from the BBC in early 2003 and ...

. In March 2008, Woodham Community Technology College (often written as Woodham CTC) announced the closure of 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 due to low applications but remained committed to current sixth form students. The Woodham Warriors were the school's American flag football team from 2003 to around 2014 and won many tournaments and accolades, including representing the UK in 2005

School rebuild

The school was scheduled for a complete rebuild but the government axed the Building Schools for the Future rebuilding programme in July, 2010

Woodham Academy: September 2012 to present

In March 2012, the school announced it would be submitting a request to turn the school into 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 ...

. In July 2012, it opened its Sports Academy which aims to offer "high quality coaching opportunities to elite athletes in a range of sports" The school introduced a new uniform in September 2012 for the new Academy, which was updated in 2022 with new

ties TIES may refer to: * TIES, Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science * TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System * TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence * Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science * The International Ecotourism Society {{disambig ...

. In July 2021 it was announced that Woodham was amongst 50 schools nationally to be considered for a major rebuild, partial rebuild or refurbishment under the School Rebuilding Programme with the Government's decision expected early 2022. Woodham Academy's new building officially opened to students on Monday 9th September 2024, marking the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year.

Facilities

The school has a range of facilities including * 9 science laboratories * 2 music suites * a technology complex with 6 specialist workshops * a textiles studio * a sports hall * a gymnasium * a drama studio * a swimming pool * multiple IT suites

Academic performance

Curriculum provision

Woodham offers a broad range of learning experiences that meet the needs of learners, engage them and maximise their opportunities to achieve well. Pupils learn about a variety of employment sectors and routes into further education. The range of external qualifications is suitably varied to support pupils’ aspirations The school offers a range of GCSE and vocational qualifications.

Progress 8 comparison with other local schools

Results from 2020 and 2021 were not published due to exam disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic. As UTC was a new school the first published results were 2018.

Ofsted report judgements

* 2023 - Good * 2018 - Good * 2016 - Requires Improvement * 2011 - Good * 2009 - Satisfactory * 2006 - Satisfactory

Head teachers

Head teachers of the school are: * John Pearson (

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

), 1970–1980 * Katherine Carr, 1980–1990 * Andrew Bennett, 1990–1994 * Steven Harness, 1994–2010 * Christine Forsyth, 2010–2019 * Andrew Bell, 2019–present

Notable alumni

* Kate Avery, long-distance runner *

Darren Craddock Darren Craddock (born 23 February 1985) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. Craddock started his career with Hartlepool United in 2003. He joined York City on a one-month loan in 2006, who he joined permanently later that ...

, footballer *

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received ...

, actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist *

Paul Magrs Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"; born 12 November 1969) is an English writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad. Early life Magrs was born in Jarrow, Tyne & W ...

, writer and lecturer * Scott Mann, film director * Chris Mason, footballer * Jason Steele, footballer *

Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull (born 4 January 1985) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Between 2002 and 2015 he made 148 league appearances, mostly for Middlesbrough ...

, footballer *

Lewis Wing Lewis Wing (born 23 June 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Reading as an attacking midfielder. Club career Early career Born in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, Wing attended Woodham Comprehensive School followed b ...

, footballer * Angela Winstanley-Smith, water polo player

Gallery

Woodham CTC Auckland Fire Damage.jpg, Fire damage in The Auckland Sector of the school Woodham Comprehensive Fire.jpg, Before and after the fire

Notes

# Position name changed to "Principal" in 2010.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Eden Learning Trust Newton Aycliffe Secondary schools in County Durham Academies in County Durham School buildings in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson Educational institutions established in 1970 1970 establishments in England