Dixons City Academy is an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in Bradford,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. The school was founded in 1990 as Dixons

City Technology College In England, a City Technology College (CTC) is an urban all-ability specialist schoolWalter (2007), p. 6 for students aged 11 to 18 specialising in science, technology and mathematics. They charge no fees and are independent of local authority ...

which focused on a specialism of

design and technology Design and Technology (D&T) is a school subject offered at all levels of primary and secondary school in England. It is used so children develop a range of designing skills and technology skills for example, using media to design their project. It ...

and product design. In 2005, the school converted into an

and changed its name to Dixons City Academy. With the change of name was a change of focus as the school became a specialist performing arts school which allows it to select 10% of admissions purely based on ability in this field. In November 2018, the school was judged "outstanding", in an Ofsted inspection.

Dixons Academies Trust

The school founded the Dixons Academies Charitable Trust, Ltd. which includes Dixons Allerton Academy, Dixons Kings Academy, Dixons McMillan Academy, Dixons Trinity Academy and Dixons Unity Academy. Founding principal Sir John Lewis retired from the school in 2006 and was succeeded by Sir Nick Weller. Weller became Executive Principal in September 2011 when Dixons took over the former Rhodesway School in Allerton, Bradford. His deputy Shirley Watson then became the Principal. Sir Nick Weller became CEO of the Dixons Academies Trust as it expanded, with Shirley Watson later becoming one of two Executive Directors (along with Luke Sparkes, former Principal of one of Dixons' highest performing schools: Dixons Trinity Academy, and four Executive Principals: Wesley Davies of Dixons McMillan; Michelle Long of Dixons Music Primary; Neil Miley of Dixons Kings; Clare Skelding of Dixons Allerton). Sir Nick was made

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

by Queen Elizabeth II for services to education in 2015, and his influential report to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...

and the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

on schools in the

Northern Powerhouse The Northern Powerhouse is a proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England by the 2010–15 coalition government and 2015–2016 Conservative government in the United Kingdom, particularly in the " Core Cities" of Hull, Manchester ...

region was published in November 2016. Michael Feely, former Deputy Headteacher at Our Lady's Convent Roman Catholic High School in London and England Youth international football player, was appointed as Principal of DCA in September 2018, leading the academy to a successful "Outstanding" Ofsted report 2 months later. Dixons Academies Trust has since expanded to Leeds and is looking further afield in order to succeed in its mission to challenge social and economic disadvantage in the North. In February 2020, the Trust was ranked second best performing in the country on the DfE's Progress 8 measure at 0.72, just 0.02 behind the lead MAT: Star Academies Trust of Blackburn.

Notable former pupils

Benson Taylor Benson Taylor (born Mark Davison 10 September 1983), is an English composer, music producer, and humanitarian who is best known for producing music for film. His style of music has a British influence, often working a classic film score sound ...

, composer, record producer *

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

, singer * Moin Ashraf, England cricketer *

ASC (musician) James Clements, better known as ASC, is a British electronic music producer who currently resides in Del Mar, California. He has been releasing music under the alias ASC since 1999, and originally gained popularity as a drum and bass producer. ...

* Daniel Lee, Designer

References

External links

Website
{{authority control Secondary schools in the City of Bradford Educational institutions established in 1990 1990 establishments in England Schools in Bradford Former city technology colleges Academies in the City of Bradford