Ormiston Denes Academy is a secondary school with academy status located in the northern outskirts of Lowestoft in the

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of Suffolk. It has around 1000 students aged 11 to 16.Suffolk County Counci
School Profile
Retrieved 13 November 2009. It is situated on Yarmouth Road, the A47. It is also home to a sports training centre open to the public.

History

Located in the historic parish of St Margaret's, the academy's history dates back to 1910 when it was founded as a replacement for a secondary fee-paying day school established in 1904. Built by Brown and Kerr its main building is a Grade II Listed Building with a Queen Anne facade. The school was originally designed to accommodate 320 pupils with the site comprising eleven acres of which seven were playing fields. For the first nine years the school was called the Lowestoft Municipal Secondary School and its aim was to provide a ‘sound education for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18’. In 1914, the first school magazine, ''The Lowestoftian'' was published, detailing the events of the school. Although it has seen many changes over time ''The Lowestoftian'' continues to be published to this day. From 1920 the school was renamed the Lowestoft Secondary School before becoming known as Lowestoft Grammar School from 1945 under the changes of the 1944 Butler Education Act. In June 1940, soon after the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and as a result of the danger from air raids on Lowestoft, 327 pupils together with the Head Master and 21 members of staff were evacuated to Worksop. The return to Lowestoft commenced in 1943 with eventually all returning by July 1944. After the end of the war there was a population boom, which caused a rapid rise in the number of pupils attending the school. This necessitated a utilitarian building programme in order to accommodate the new pupils. This expansion of the school buildings continued intermittently for the next 30 years. The school became a comprehensive in 1971 and was renamed The Denes High School. In September 2004 it was designated by the Department for Education and Skills as a specialist school as a Business and Enterprise College.Specialist Schools Home, Department for Education and Skills. Retrieved 27 September 2007. In September 2011 the school became an 11 to 16 school as part of the reorganisation of schools in Lowestoft by Suffolk County Council. Pupils in years 7 and 8 joined the school after the closure of eight middle schools in Lowestoft. The opening of

Lowestoft Sixth Form College Lowestoft Sixth Form College is a sixth-form college in the town of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The college opened in September 2011, replacing sixth form provision in the existing high schools in Lowestoft. The college is a me ...

also meant that the school lost its role in the Lowestoft 6th consortium, which had operated as a shared sixth form between the high schools in the town. As The Denes High School, it was rated as 'Inadequate' in all four criteria following an Ofsted inspection in September 2012 and was placed into special measures.Carroll A (2012
Lowestoft high school placed on special measures
''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily P ...

'', 30 November 2012. Retrieved 2016-09-05.Papworth A (2016
New headteacher at Ormiston Denes Academy after principal quits
''Lowestoft Journal'', 5 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-05. The headteacher, Peter Marshall, who joined the school in October 2012, led the conversion to academy status in 2013 as part of the Ormiston Academies Trust and the school was renamed Ormiston Denes Academy. The school was taken out of special measures in March 2015 but saw little improvement in its examination results in 2016. On 5 September 2016, Peter Marshall left the school after resigning to "explore other career opportunities closer to home".Quoted in Papworth A (2016) ''op. cit.'' He was replaced by Ben Driver as interim principal until January 2017, when Mr. Driver was appointed principal.

Notable alumni

The Denes High School

* James Mayhew, artist; author and illustrator of children's books * Sean Harris, actor * Prof Jules Pretty OBE, Professor of Environment and Society since 2000 at the

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, actor and comedian *

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, BBC Radio 4 Newsreader, author and Television Presenter * Daniel Cooper, journalist * *

Lowestoft Grammar School

* Reginald Allerton CBE, president from 1949–50 and 1960-61 of the Institute of Housing * Rosemary Ashe, actress/singer * Prof Willy Aspinall CMG, Cabot Professor in Natural Hazards and Risk Science since 2009 at the

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* Sir Brian Bailey OBE, chairman from 1980-93 of

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(TSW) and president from 1987 to 2004 of the Hospital Caterers Association * Maurice Baker, managing director from 1967-71 of Woolworths Ltd * Dennis Barker, ''Guardian'' journalist * Keith Beckett FREng, Vice President Engineering from 1982-97 of Pilkington PLC * Prof John Bleby, vetProfessor John Bleby, veterinary surgeon - obituary
'' Daily Telegraph'', 14 October 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-05. * Sir Tim Brighouse, Chief Adviser from 2003-07 for London Schools at the DfES *

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and

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footballer * James Campbell, Professor of Medieval History from 1996-2002 at the

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VC * John Edmonds CBE, Chief Executive from 1994-97 of Railtrack plc * Barry Hartop, Chief Executive from 1994-97 of the

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* James Hoseason OBE, built up the Hoseasons travel companyBarker.D (2009
James Hoseason obituary
''The Guardian'', 7 December 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2011. * Andrew Marshall, screenwriter, who wrote and created ''

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'', wrote Radio 4's 1970s ''

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'' (with David Renwick), and was Douglas Adams' inspiration for the character Marvin in ''

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'' * Maj-Gen John Milne CB, Colonel Commandant from 2001-07 of the

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* Prof Brendan Neiland, artist *

Tony Palmer Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)IMDb: Tony Palmer
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, film and theatre director * David Porter, local Conservative MP from 1987-97 for Waveney * Eddie Spearritt, Ipswich Town footballer * Jack Strowger CBE, managing director from 1970-79 of

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and chairman from 1981 to 1993 of

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* Tony Wood, Vice-Chancellor from 1993-98 of the

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, and director from 1985-93 of the Luton College of Higher Education *David Gage MBE DL ACIB Corporate Director NatWest Bank PLC from 1994-2000, Chair Stafford Railway Building Society from 2014-2017, Chair & Pro Chancellor Staffordshire University 2015 to 2019

References

External links

Website of Ormiston Denes Academy
*
EduBase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ormiston Denes Academy Secondary schools in Suffolk Grade II listed buildings in Suffolk Academies in Suffolk Grade II listed educational buildings Ormiston Academies