Wykham Park Academy 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 t ...

academy school An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. Most ...

situated on Ruskin Road, in the Easington ward of

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The school has a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

. Formerly Banbury School, it has been an academy since 2012, originally under the name of Banbury Academy. In September 2018, the school changed its name to Wykham Park Academy Banbury.

History

Wykham Park Academy used to be three separate schools. These were: *Stanbridge Hall (the former grammar school) *Wykham Hall *Broughton Hall Before the school's name was changed to Banbury Grammar School in 1946, it was called Banbury County School and was a mixed school for boys and girls from the ages of 11 to 18/19. It was founded in 1893. Wykham Hall was built in about 1953 and was called Easington Modern Boys' School. When the schools merged they became Banbury School, with

Harry Judge Harry George Judge (1 August 1928 – 2 April 2019) was senior research fellow at the Department of Education, University of Oxford and emeritus fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. He was director of the Department of Educational Studies from 197 ...

as the founding Principal. The school became an academy, originally called Banbury Academy, on 1 August 2012.

Banbury and Drayton merger proposal

In April 2003, there was a proposal which suggested that Banbury School and

Drayton School Drayton School was a comprehensive school situated on Stratford Road in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. Established in 1973, its buildings are now occupied by the North Oxfordshire Academy which replaced Drayton School in 2007. Overview The ...

should be merged as one school, while

Blessed George Napier Roman Catholic School Blessed George Napier Roman Catholic School, known locally as BGN, is a Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status. It is located on Addison Road in the Easington, Banbury, Oxfordshire, Easington ...

, which is situated next to Banbury School, would move to the site of Drayton School. The idea met with opposition from many in the local community because it would have meant an increase in journey time for those students who attend Drayton School. Many argued that it would mean a loss of parental choice and would mean that Banbury School would lose its identity. As a result, the proposed merger was rejected.BBC NEWS , England , Oxfordshire , School may become 'city academy'
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New building programme

Oxfordshire County Council spent £6 million on a new two-storey, V-shaped building to replace the old Stanbridge building. The New Stanbridge building was officially opened on 13 March 2009 by

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...

MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and includes the English, Maths, Humanities, Languages, RE, IT and Business departments, with 28 classrooms. The old building and some associated land was subsequently sold, causing local controversy.

Banbury Area Sixth Form

The sixth form serves students from the town of Banbury and surrounding villages. It offers over 30 A-Level courses as well as the option to resit Maths and English at GCSE. The sixth form has undergone extensive development and it now contains a common room, study area and computer suite for use by all sixth formers, plus classrooms and offices in the original sixth form block. The students play an active role in the way that the sixth form is run in the form of a student council, led by the principal students with representatives from each mentor group. They organise social events such as the end of year prom and charity events, most recently the Children in Need appeal.

Notable alumni

Faisal Khalid This is a list in alphabetical order of cricketers who have played first-class cricket for the Oxford University Centre of Cricketing Excellence (UCCE) and/or Oxford MCC University (MCCU). The UCCE team first played cricket in 2000, and played ...

(born 1985), cricketer

References

{{authority control Academies in Oxfordshire Secondary schools in Oxfordshire