Jane Austen College is a secondary free school located in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, owned by the

Inspiration Trust Inspiration Trust is a multi-academy trust of academies and free schools in East Anglia, England. The trust was founded by Theodore Agnew, Baron Agnew of Oulton as the East Norfolk Academy Trust in 2012, changing its name to the Inspiration Trus ...

, that opened in September 2014.

History

Plans for the school were announced in March 2013 with the intention to locate in central Norwich. Jane Austen College was approved by 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 22 May 2013, to open in September 2014.

Academic organisation

The school has an admission number of 180 students per year between Years 7 and 11, and a smaller sixth form. There is an extended school day, with optional sessions running until 5.30pm three days a week for students to complete homework on site. Within the school day students spend dedicated time on an ‘elective’ until year 11, activity of their choice such as choir, football, Dungeons and Dragons, dancing or STEM studies. There is a shorter end time on Fridays of 3.30pm for those students who have completed their week's homework. The school has chosen to compress Key Stage 3 into 2 years, and operate a three-year

Key Stage 4 Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other examinations, in maintained schools in England normally known as Year 10 and Year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 by August 31 ...

when students are studying GCSEs.

Qualifications offered

The school offers a range of GCSEs with core subjects comprising English, maths, science, PE, humanities, and modern foreign languages as well as options including Latin, engineering, dance, drama, business studies and computer science. Further qualifications such as the Arts Awards or Duke of Edinburgh's Award are also available through the school's electives programme. A Level options at the sixth form focus on arts, English, drama, and the humanities, and there is a reciprocal arrangement with nearby

Sir Isaac Newton Sixth Form Sir Isaac Newton Sixth Form is a specialist maths and science sixth form with free school status located in Norwich, owned by the Inspiration Trust. It has the capacity for 480 students aged 16–19. It specialises in mathematics and science ...

for students who wish to study science, psychology, computer science or maths. In 2018, 88% of A Level students achieved an A* - C grade.

Physical education

Pupils travel to the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

or The Hewett Academy for sports lessons and some electives. The facilities available at those sites allow teaching of units such as football, hockey, netball and swimming. In 2018 the Eileen Ash Sports Hall was opened on the edge of The Hewett Academy site for use by Jane Austen College.

Ofsted judgements

As of 2021, the school's first and so far only Ofsted inspection was in 2016, with an overall judgement of Good.

References

External links

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Jane Austen College
at Inspiration Trust {{authority control Free schools in England Schools in Norwich Secondary schools in Norfolk 2014 establishments in England Inspiration Trust Educational institutions established in 2014