Albany Academy (formerly Albany Science College, Albany High School and St Alban's) is a

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) ...

with academy status located on the south side of

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. Albany Academy has specialist status in science and was one of the first schools in the country to convert to academy status. The school is the founding member of the Albany Learning Trust, a

Multi-academy trust Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or school trust is an academy trust that operates more than one academy school. Academy schools are state-funded schools in England which are directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local autho ...

- the first Trust of its type in Lancashire.

History

Secondary school

The school was originally opened as St. Alban's, and was built on the former Yarrow House next to the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

of the same name. In 1982, the School adopted a new name, Albany High School, and was subsequently renamed Albany Science College, before becoming Albany Academy when it converted to academy status.

Buildings

The former house was the birthplace and childhood home of ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' first mate

Charles Lightoller Charles Herbert Lightoller, (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952) was a British mariner and naval officer. He was the second officer on board the and the most senior member of the crew to survive the ''Titanic'' disaster. As the officer in ch ...

. This has been commemorated by a blue plaque on the school gates and the renaming of the school's canteen to ''Lightoller's Diner''. Albany Academy has a long and successful history in engaging with the local community. They have developed opportunities and social activities focused on leisure, health and career development. In addition, a wide range of services and facilities available to hire by community groups, local sports clubs and businesses in the local area. Facilities are available for hire seven days a week, 50 weeks of the year. These include: Sports Hall, Gymnasium, Fully fitted fitness suite Classrooms with ICT facilities and large hall with stage and a sports field which can host a wide range of events. All facilities have full disability access including a lift onto the stage.

Educational Results

Albany Academy is consistently one of the top ten performing schools in Lancashire. The school is outstanding in pupil behaviour and safety and is also outstanding in leadership and management The school also consistently gets outstanding GCSE results; the school always attains the national average, six of the pupils getting the brand new grade 9 score in English language, English literature and Maths. This grade is equivalent to A**. The school has also never achieved below A*-C in art and design and photography.

Media

The school appeared on the TV Show Canteen Rescue in 2010, after winning an award to have the school canteen re-decorated. The theme was a 1950s style American Diner.

Employment

Albany Academy is accredited as a

Living Wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

Employer

References

External links

Albany Academy WebsiteLatest Ofsted ReportsAlbany Academy Youtube Channel
Schools in Chorley Educational institutions established in 1960 1960 establishments in England Secondary schools in Lancashire Academies in Lancashire {{Lancashire-school-stub