The Taunton Academy is a school with academy status in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. The school was formed by the merger of The St Augustine of Canterbury Church of England/Roman Catholic VA School and

Ladymead Community School Ladymead Community School was a secondary school and technology college located on Cheddon Road, Taunton, Somerset, England. It had 753 students aged 11–16. The school made the news when a protest of hundreds of students turned into a ri ...

. Its original sponsors were

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

and the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the C ...

, however the school transferred to the Richard Huish Trust in 2015 and is now sponsored by

Richard Huish College Richard Huish College is a further education and sixth-form college in Taunton, Somerset, England. Located on a single site in South Road, about a mile from the centre of Taunton, it offers A-level courses, apprenticeships and vocational courses ...

. It was opened on 9 September 2010 by

Peter Price Peter or Pete Price may refer to: * Peter O. Price (born 1941), former journalist and CEO of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences *Peter Price (bishop) (born 1944), English bishop * Peter Price (politician) (born 1942), English polit ...

, the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

. Initially the academy admitted pupils aged 11 to 16 and will be based in the existing schools' buildings. In September 2011, the academy opened a sixth form for 100 students. In 2013, the academy moved to new and refurbished buildings on the former Ladymead site on Cheddon Road, with the former St Augustine site being closed. This plan was temporarily put on hold following the government's major review of the

Building Schools for the Future Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the name given to the British government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England in the 2000s. The programme was ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicia ...

programme in July 2010, and was subject to review 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 ...

History

The expression of interest to become an academy was submitted by the sponsors to the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was replac ...

in February 2009. The submission document confirmed that both schools had a set of problems. St Augustine had 274 pupils on roll against its capacity of 610, was in the lowest band for deprivation with 21.2% of pupils receiving

free school meal A school meal or school lunch (also known as hot lunch, a school dinner, or school breakfast) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world ...

s against the local authority average of 7.9%, had 38% of pupils achieving five or more

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

qualifications including English and Mathematics against the local authority average of 46.7% and national average of 47%, and for three years between 2006 and 2009 had set deficit budgets of between 8% and 14%. Ladymead had 746 pupils on roll against a capacity of 880, had 11.4% of pupils receiving free school meals, and had 41% of pupils achieving five or more

qualifications including English and Mathematics. The application was approved by education minister

Jim Knight James Philip Knight, Baron Knight of Weymouth, (born 6 March 1965) is a British politician who served as Minister for the South West and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party and ...

in March 2009. By June 2009, the plans looked to be under threat as parental consultation by governors at Ladymead showed strong opposition to the new academy. However, the final go-ahead was given in January 2010, when the government agreed to the academy's funding.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taunton Academy Academies in Somerset Educational institutions established in 2010 2010 establishments in England Schools in Taunton Secondary schools in Somerset Church of England secondary schools in the Diocese of Bath and Wells