John Smeaton Academy
John Smeaton Academy is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
| John Smeaton Academy | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) The school in 2012 | |
| Address | |
| |
Smeaton Approach Barwick Road , , LS15 8TA England | |
| Coordinates | 53.8142°N 1.4346°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Local authority | Leeds City Council |
| Trust | United Learning |
| Department for Education URN | 139282 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Website | http://www.johnsmeatonacademy.org.uk/ |
The school educates children aged 11–18 from across Leeds and its surrounding villages including Scholes, Cross Gates, Barwick-in-Elmet, Pendas Fields and Swarcliffe.
The school is part of United Learning, a national group of schools whose motto is 'the best in everyone'.[1]
History
The school was previously called John Smeaton Community High School, named after 18th-century civil engineer John Smeaton of Austhorpe, and its buildings occupied the site of the current school playing fields.
Until August 1992, a middle school occupied one of the buildings on the school site.
The original school buildings were demolished in 2007 to make way for a new school, built by Carillion, at cost of £100 million.
The school was called John Smeaton Community College for a short time.
The school became an academy in 2014 and joined multi-academy trust United Learning.
Ethos and values
As part of United Learning, the school is committed to an ethos of 'the best in everyone'. This is underpinned by six core values:
- Ambition – to achieve the best for ourselves and others;
- Confidence – to have the courage of our convictions and to take risks in the right cause;
- Creativity – to imagine possibilities and make them real;
- Respect – of ourselves and others in all that we do;
- Enthusiasm – to seek opportunity, find what is good and pursue talents and interests;
- Determination – to overcome obstacles and reach success.[1]
Academic performance
Prior to joining United Learning and converting to an academy, the school was rated 'Inadequate' by Ofsted and placed in Special Measures.[2]
In December 2016, Ofsted inspectors concluded that the school 'Requires Improvement', praising the capacity of leaders to improve further.[3]
In August 2017, 46% of students achieved five or more A*-C grades including 4 or above in English and maths – an increase from the previous year. There were also improvements in the number of students achieving at least a grade 4 – equivalent to the old 'C' grade – in English and maths respectively.[4][5]
Notable former pupils and staff
- Phil, Lord Willis - Former Head Teacher at the school from 1983-1997 and then Liberal Democrat politician. Willis was Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrogate and Knaresborough from 1997 until retiring at the 2010 general election. Up to that date he was the chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. On 18 June 2010, Willis was created a life peer with the title Baron Willis of Knaresborough, of Harrogate in the County of North Yorkshire and was introduced in the House of Lords on 7 July 2010.
- Josh Warrington - Former pupil who is now an English professional Featherweight boxer.
- Marcus Reynolds - Former professional eSports player for Machine Soldiers, accomplished Twitch streamer.
References
- "United Learning > About Us > Our ethos and values". unitedlearning.org.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- "Leeds secondary school blasted by inspectors". The Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- "Ofsted report". Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- "John Smeaton Academy - GOV.UK - Find and compare schools in England". Find and compare schools in England. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- "Students at John Smeaton Academy Celebrate GCSE Results". United Learning. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
