Leigh Academy Blackheath is an 11–18 mixed,

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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 ...

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

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, England. It was established in September 2018 in temporary accommodation, with the first cohort of Year 7 pupils. It is part of the

Leigh Academies Trust Leigh Academies Trust is a multi-academy trust, formed of 31 schools based in the Kent, Medway and South East London areas. Its Head Office is on the same site as Strood Academy, housing its Executive Team and central teams including Finance, Es ...

History

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) approved the school in January 2015, and 18 potential sites were considered. Plans were submitted for the former Blackheath Bluecoat school site, with detached playing fields in Hervey Road, during July 2018.

Interim school

The school opened on a temporary site,

Victoria House Victoria House may refer to: * Victoria House, Greenwich, a historic school building originally constructed in 1909 for the Royal Army Medical Corps * Victoria House, London, a building on Bloomsbury Square, constructed in the 1920s * Victoria Hous ...

on Shooters Hill Road, in September 2018 with the first Year 7 cohort of 180 students and 45 staff. In September 2019 it moved, with Years 7 and 8 into custom-built temporary buildings on its new site, the former

Blackheath Bluecoat School Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England School was a secondary school and sixth form located in the Blackheath Standard area of Blackheath, London, Blackheath, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Its closure was announced in January 2012 and the sch ...

. It had to wait for possession until the St Mary Magdalene School, which was temporarily occupying the Bluecoat buildings, moved to itś new permanent home on the

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. The old Bluecoat buildings were demolished in preparation for the new school.

School building

Bouygues UK was appointed as construction contractor for the £26M project, working with architect Stride Treglown who designed a standards-compliant, sustainable building. Completed in 2020, it is of a standard 3-storey (75m x 45m) block design with sports facilities in a smaller attached single storey (33m x 18m) block. Leigh divides its pupils in to colleges, similar to houses. Each college has its own set of classrooms, open spaces, toilets and staff working areas. Pastorally the pupils are split into vertical tutor groups within those colleges. The pupils share flexible library space, the specialist teaching areas, the studio and hall. By comparison with a similar building in

Rainham, Kent Rainham ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham. Historically, Rainham was a separate village until, in 1928, ...

, the main 3-storey block has a figure eight-like structure, being built around two internal courtyards or atria. One houses the school hall and activity studio and is two storeys high; the other is larger and three storeys in height and is used as the dining area. The specialist teaching areas are around the hall; the general classrooms and staff rooms are around the dining atrium. The layout of the three floors here is identical, and these floors will each house the 'small schools within a school' colleges.

Curriculum

The Leigh Academies Trust runs 23 academies along the A2 corridor incorporating many larger than average secondaries. In an interview, former chief executive Frank Green explained the small schools model of education as a way to prevent students from dropping out, and vertical tutor groups as a way that allows students to be supported by peers a couple of years their senior. The trust creates largely autonomous 'schools within a school' - analogous to houses in former times. In its consultation documents for the proposed school, the small school model is mentioned. The Leigh Academies Trust is an enthusiastic proponent of the IB (

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

), adopting the Learner Profile, and offering an

IB Middle Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to pr ...

-compliant curriculum within its secondary schools. Leigh Academy Blackheath has academy status so does not have to apply the

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 ...

. Instead, the IB Middle Years Programme is used in its two-year

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 ...

phase. It is proposing to offer the L, A and B pathways. In common with all Leigh Academies Trust IB schools, and IB schools worldwide, it has a philosophy that all students should: * Enjoy equal access * Develop basic skills and specialist digital skills * Develop creative thinking and problem solving throughout the learning process. It offers its students in its care: * the means to reach their full potential * the challenge to work in partnership and collaboration with industry * the means to become powerful digital citizens by learning to use the technology and to use it to learn.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Leigh Academies Trust Free schools in London Secondary schools in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Academies in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Educational institutions established in 2018 2018 establishments in England