The Rural Enterprise Academy is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

high 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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

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 ...

located in

Penkridge Penkridge ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Staffordshire, South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock and east of Telford. ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, UK. It was the first dedicated land-based free school in England, and its aim is to develop rural entrepreneurs and business leaders. Free schools were introduced in England in 2010 to pioneer innovative approaches to education, but analysis in 2018 by the

National Foundation for Educational Research The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) is an educational research organisation which gathers evidence and research to inform educational policy and school services. The foundation is not an examination board, however they provi ...

and the

Sutton Trust The Sutton Trust is an educational charity in the United Kingdom which aims to improve social mobility and address educational disadvantage. The charity was set up by educational philanthropist, Sir Peter Lampl in 1997. Since then, it has unde ...

found that only a third had achieved this; in their report, the Rural Enterprise Academy was highlighted as a particularly successful example of genuine novelty in their curriculum in catering for an area with a significant local farming community. The Academy was rated "Good" in full inspections by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

in 2014 and 2018. The Rural Enterprise Academy is sponsored by

South Staffordshire College South Staffordshire College is a further education college located over four sites in Staffordshire, England. The college was created in 2009 as a result of a merger of Cannock Chase Technical College, Rodbaston College and Tamworth and Lichfi ...

Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...

and the National Farmers Union.

Facilities

The Academy is located on a site that includes an equine centre, zoo, fish hatchery, working farm, formal gardens and horticulture facilities as well as classrooms, IT and science laboratories, and sports facilities.

Curriculum

The academy has chosen to offer a three-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 ...

with a broad-based curriculum of core and rural subjects. These are grouped in to three 'arcs': Environmental, Creative and Technological. In the first arc are grouped plant and animal husbandry and woodland management. In the second comes PE, art, music and dance and the third covers the use of computer applications. The

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. ...

curriculum features courses in the land-based, environmental and sustainability sectors, preparing students for both vocational and academic qualifications. All students study for

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 ...

s and/or BTECs in English, maths, science, geography, and business. In addition, students in KS4 (years 10 & 11, ages 14–16) may choose optional subjects such as animal care, agriculture, IT, sport, and construction. Students also follow non-examined courses in

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

, physical education and CPSHE (citizenship, personal, social & health education). Students are not offered a foreign language at Key Stage 4, so are unable to obtain the

English Baccalaureate The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results. It measures students' attainment by calculating an average score from specified subject grades. ...

Extra-curricular activities

A wide range of rural-based extra-curricular activities is available, including game bird management, horse riding, horse care, and zoo training, and students can also take part in

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

scheme.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rural Enterprise Academy, The Secondary schools in Staffordshire Free schools in England Educational institutions established in 2012 2012 establishments in England