Clacton Coastal 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 ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

serving the western part of

Clacton-on-Sea Clacton-on-Sea is a seaside town in the Tendring District in the county of Essex, England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District with a population of 56,874 (2016). The town is situated a ...

. The school has a population of about 1377 students with a maximum limit of 1550 students. Formerly known as "Colbayns", the site was officially renamed on 1 September 2009, after merging with the now defunct Bishops Park College. It has been part of

Academies Enterprise Trust The Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) is a multi-academy trust in England. It is a non-profit, educational charitable trust, which sponsors schools with academy status. History Formally established in 2008 by the Greensward Charitable Trust (est ...

since September 2009.

History

The original school dates from 1926 but moved to its present site in 1931 when it was known as the 'Clacton-on-Sea Senior School'. This school gained the unofficial title 'Pathfields School' because access was just off of Pathfields Road. In January 1953, a new building on the west side of Pathfields Road was opened as the 'Clacton County Secondary School for Girls' with Miss Lawrence as Headmistress. The original building on the east site became the 'Clacton County Secondary School for Boys' with Mr K. Portman as Headmaster. In September 1973 the two schools were amalgamated to form Colbayns High School under the headship of Mr. D. King. He was succeeded by Mr. J. Midgley in 1984.

Facilities

In 1988, Mr. John Holt, who joined the staff in 1964, became Headmaster. With the Governing Body, he saw the school through into successful incorporation as a

Grant Maintained Grant-maintained schools or GM schools were state schools in England and Wales between 1988 and 1998 that had opted out of local government control, being funded directly by a grant from central government. Some of these schools had selective ad ...

School within the terms of the

Education Reform Act 1988 The Education Reform Act 1988 is widely regarded as the most important single piece of education legislation in England and Wales since the 'Butler' Education Act 1944. Provisions The main provisions of the Education Reform Act are as follows: ...

on 1 September 1993. Under his leadership, in 1996, over £1 million was spent on new facilities. Mr. Nick Pavitt took up his post as headteacher at

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

1997. During his first year, the school was able to put in hand £420,000 of building work through grants from the Funding Agency to build new science laboratories, language laboratories and improved sixth form study provision. A grant of a further £170,000 has allowed the building of a new

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

suite, completed in the

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

of 1999. In 2009, Colbayns High School and Bishops Park merged to become the Clacton Coastal Academy.

Ofsted

The Overall Evaluation from

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

(2004) identified staff turn-over as a root cause of poor behaviour in the classroom. In 2014 it was a good school. The school has grown in recent years, particularly at Sixth Form level. In 2003, Clacton Coastal Academy became the first British school to join US-run company Edison Learning formerly known as the Edison Project.

Academics

It is possible for a student to spend all their secondary and sixth-form career at Clacton Coastal Academy, as the sixth form offer is broaden by co-operating with the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

Key Stage 3

The UK

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

states that every pupil in Year 7 and Year 8,

Key Stage 3 Key Stage 3 (commonly abbreviated as KS3) is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14. In Northern Ireland the ...

has a right to a broad defined curriculum.

Key Stage 4

The Curriculum is delivered as core subjects and options. It is the aim to build up a good Attainment 8 score and with it a good Progress 8 score, by choosing an

EBacc The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

combination. There is a vocational and an academic path.

Notable Former Pupils

Lord Bassam John Steven Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, (born 11 June 1953) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and a member of the House of Lords. Background Bassam grew up on a council estate in Great Bentley, Essex and went to the local ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all gen ...

politician and Shadow Minister.

References

External links

Clacton Coastal Academy
{{authority control Clacton-on-Sea Academies in Essex Secondary schools in Essex Academies Enterprise Trust