The Dean Academy

The Dean Academy (formerly Whitecross School) is a mixed secondary school located in Lydney in the English county of Gloucestershire.[2]

The Dean Academy
Address
Church Road

Lydney
,
Gloucestershire
,
GL15 5DZ

England
Coordinates51.72141°N 2.53619°W / 51.72141; -2.53619
Information
TypeAcademy
MottoEnjoyment, Achievement, Community.
TrustThe Athelstan Trust UID: 3831[1]
Department for Education URN138421 Tables
OfstedReports
Head TeacherRichard Brand
GenderMixed
Age11 to 16
Enrolment609 (November 2019)
Capacity1095
Websitewww.thedeanacademy.org

Location

The school is located on the edge of Lydney, a small river-side town in the Royal Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. It adjoins the Lydney Park Estate on Church Road near Bathurst Park, St. Mary's Church and Lydney Town Hall.[3]

History

Whitecross School was a foundation school administered by Gloucestershire County Council. It converted to academy status on 1 November 2012 and was renamed The Dean Academy. It joined the Prospects Academy Trust but continued to co-ordinate with Gloucestershire County Council for admissions. In May 2014, it was announced that the trust was to cease operations,[4] and The Dean Academy formally joined the Athelstan Academy Trust in March 2015.[5] which also contains Malmesbury School and Bradon Forest School in Wiltshire.[6]

In November 2015, the Dean Academy was put into special measures after a critical Ofsted report,[7] and the headteacher, David Gaston, resigned.[8] Following his resignation, John Barrett was head appointed teacher for the 2015–2016 school year. In September 2016, a new permanent head of school, Tom Beveridge, was appointed.[9]

Leadership had been a severe problem. Following the departure of Gaston, Barrett took the role of acting headteacher from November 2015 to July 2016. He introduced new action plans to aid the school in improving to a better standard. In September 2016, the new head of school, Tom Beveridge, was hired to build the required strategies with Barrett taking a new role as executive headteacher.[9] A 2017 Ofsted Report, while saying the school "required improvement", rated effectiveness of leadership and management as good:

The headteacher has a clear vision for the future of the school. He is supported well by the chief executive officer of the trust. The head teacher has successfully communicated a message of high expectations and hope,which has renewed the confidence of pupils, parents and staff in the school. A culture of aspiration has now been established. Senior leaders continually focus on improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment,and this has led to significant improvement in pupils' behaviour and in pupils' outcomes. Senior leaders form a cohesive team. Staff value the stability they have brought to the school.[10]

Academics

The Dean Academy offers GCSEs, BTECs, OCR Nationals and ASDAN courses and programmes of study for pupils.[11] The school also offers hair and beauty courses.[12]

Notable former pupils

Whitecross School

References
  1. "The Athelstan Trust - GOV.UK". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. "Dean Academy". thedeanacademy.org. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  3. "Home:Map". The Dean Academy. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. Richard Garner (19 March 2014). "First academy chain closes leaving the fates of six schools in the balance". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  5. "Prospects Academy Trust offloads final Gloucestershire schools". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. "Welcome to The Athelstan Trust". The Athelstan Trust. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  7. "Ofsted Report 2015". Ofsted. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  8. "Dean Academy in Lydney is placed in special measures". Gloucester Citizen. 26 November 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  9. "How one headteacher changed a troubled Gloucestershire school to bring it out of special measures". Gloucestershire Live. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  10. "Ofsted Report 2017". ofsted.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 Archived 28 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "SEND offer". The Dean Academy. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  12. "Key Stage 4 Courses". Dean Academy. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
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