King James I Academy (formally known as King James I Community Arts College) is a medium size

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 ...

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 ...

centre for mixed gender aged 11–18 in the town of

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

in County Durham in northeast England. It traces its history to the early 17th century. The site currently consists of two large two-storey buildings as well as a few small cabins, including the "Kings Feast" which is used to sell food at breaks, lunches and special occasions. The others are used as classrooms or form rooms similar to the rooms inside the other buildings.

History

Opened in 1605, by

King James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

it went through multiple transformations and renaming. It was mainly known as ''King James 1st Grammar School'' and became the first secondary school in south-west Durham to be upgraded to academy status.King James School, Bishop Auckland, celebrates academy status
''Northeast Life'', 25 August 2011 In an interview, Elizabeth Varley (Chair Of Governors For The Academy and former student) described how many years ago, students had to pass a test to be able to attend the academy since at the time it was a Grammar School where boys and girls were educated separately. She also revealed that the current Art block was not part of the original Middle School building, and that it was added at a later date to house a school swimming pool (which has since been blocked up

In 2022 there were 944 students in the academy, with 136 of them being sixth formers. Its staff including representatives from Connexions (agency), Connexions and the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Ofsted inspections

As of the last inspection in 2022, Ofsted reports this in regards to attending the school:https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50181046

Uniform

The uniform exists for students in years 7 to 11 and consists of: * Black trousers or skirt. * A blazer with the King James logo or a plain black v-neck jumper. * Smart, black shoes. (No trainers or sandals). * A plain white t-shirt or shirt. * A school tie (black, blue and gold in colour).

Notable former pupils

Andrew Ayre Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

, High Commissioner to Guyana from 2011 to 2015 *

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

, comedian *

William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, (26 November 1810 – 27 December 1900) was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor ...

, who founded

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...

Keith Hampson Keith Hampson (born 14 August 1943) is a former Conservative party politician in the United Kingdom. Hampson was educated at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, where he was head boy, the University of Bristol and HarvardMatthew P ...

, Conservative MP from February 1974 - 1983 for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

, then Leeds Northwest from 1983 to 1997 *

Harold Heslop Harold Heslop (1 October 1898 – 10 November 1983) was an English writer, left-wing political activist, and coalminer, from near Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Heslop's first novel ''Goaf'' was published in 1926, but it was in a Russian transl ...

, writer * Derek Hodgson, priest * Prof Philip Hutchinson FREng, Principal from 1996 to 2006 of the

Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist ...

(

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

), Head of the School of Engineering from 1987 to 2007 at Cranfield University * Prof Ian Lauder FRCPath FMedSci, Dean of Medicine from 2000 to 2008 at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

, and Professor of Pathology from 1984 to 2000 * Prof

Harold Orton Harold Orton (23 October 1898 – 7 March 1975) was a British dialectologist and professor of English Language and Medieval Literature at the University of Leeds. Early life Orton was born in Byers Green, County Durham, on 23 October 1898 and w ...

, Professor of English Language and Medieval English Literature from 1946 to 1964 at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

* Rt Rev

Tom Stanage Thomas Shaun Stanage (1932 – 18 March 2020) was bishop of Bloemfontein in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa from 1982 to 1997. Biography Stanage was born in Ireland in 1932 and was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford ( BA 1956, MA 1960 ...

Bishop of Bloemfontein The Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. History The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by † Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town ...

from 1982 to 1997 * Thomas Wright, astronomer *

Andrew Nelson (Footballer) Andrew Nelson or Andy Nelson may refer to: Sports * Andy Nelson (American football) (born 1933), former American football player * Andy Nelson (footballer) (born 1935), English footballer * Andrew Nelson (footballer) (born 1997), English footbal ...

Footballer for

Dundee F.C. Dundee Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland, founded in 1893. The team are nicknamed "The Dark Blues" or "The Dee". The club plays its home matches at Dens Park. The club was formed after a merg ...

References

External links

King James I Academy
official website
King James I Academy, Bishop Auckland
''Gov.UK'' {{authority control Academies in County Durham Educational institutions established in the 1600s 1605 establishments in England Secondary schools in County Durham Bishop Auckland