Darwen Aldridge Community Academy (DACA) is a

secondary 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and

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 ...

with academy status in the

Blackburn with Darwen Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns. Formation It was fou ...

borough of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. It specialises in entrepreneurship and is part of the Aldridge Education

Multi Academy Trust Multi is a shortened form of "multiple". It may refer to: * Alternate character, in online gaming * Multi two diamonds, a contract bridge convention * Multirhyme, a synonym for feminine rhyme used in hip hop music * Multi (''To Heart''), a charac ...

History

Darwen Aldridge Communuity Academy replaced Darwen Moorland High School in September 2008, opening on the site of the former school at Holden Fold (). The academy is sponsored by the

Aldridge Foundation The Aldridge Foundation is a British educational charity which focusses on creating social change and community regeneration opportunities through enterprise and entrepreneurship, to help young people to reach their potential and improve their co ...

and was officially opened by the foundation chairman, Sir

Rod Aldridge Sir Rodney Malcolm Aldridge (born 7 November 1947) is the founder and former executive chairman of Capita, a British company specialising in business process outsourcing. He is a former Chair of Vinspired, a charity launched in May 2006 aiming ...

, on 16 October 2008. Brendan Loughran was appointed the school's first principal. The academy moved to a new purpose-built site in September 2010, located in the Redearth area at the centre of Darwen. The new site features a five-storey main building, a sports hall, a dance/drama studio, a café and office spaces for young entrepreneurs. It was designed by architecture firm

Aedas Aedas is an architectural firm with eleven International offices founded by the Welsh architect Keith Griffiths. Aedas provides services in architecture, interior design, urban design, masterplanning and graphic design. It was established in 2002 ...

. The new school cost an estimated £49 million, with the controversial clearance of houses in the area of Redearth involving the council in a long legal dispute, including a hearing by the High Court and two public inquiries.

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

and

Kate Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

visited the new school to formally open it on 11 April 2011 as part of their final public engagement before their

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

GCSE results

The school saw 57% of students achieve five or more GCSEs at an A* to C Grade in August 2015, which was up from 52% the previous year.

Ofsted ratings

In its inspection by

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 ...

by in January 2013, the school was rated as ''good'' overall. The previous inspection in January 2011 had rated the school ''satisfactory''.

Notable former pupils

Neil Arthur Blancmange () are an English synth-pop band formed in Harrow, London, in 1979. The band were a duo for much of their career, composed of Neil Arthur (vocals) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards). They came to prominence in the early 1980s, releasi ...

, singer of the 1980s synth band

Blancmange Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with ...

Rhiannon Clements Rhiannon Grace Clements (born 1 December 1994) is an English actress. Whilst studying at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Clements began starring in various theatre productions, and went on to be awarded Best Stage Actor at the Spotlight ...

, actress (''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'')

References

External links

* {{authority control Academies in Blackburn with Darwen Darwen Secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen Educational institutions established in 2008 2008 establishments in England