New College 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 ...

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

college in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It acquired

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

status in 2017, forming a trust to open colleges in other areas, called the New Collaborative Learning Trust. At its

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

inspection in 2014 it was rated outstanding. In 2023 it was again rated outstanding.

History

The school on the site was originally built in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

as a

slaughter house In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...

before being demolished, later it became the Pontefract Girls' High School, before finally opening as the college in 1987. In 1987 it became north east Wakefield's sixth form college known as NEW college. Previously the Motto of the college was ''nos excellentia per nostrum discipulus primoris'' ('We achieve excellence by putting our students first'). The college is now part of an academies trust named the New Collaborative Learning Trust. The CEO, Richard Fletcher, was previously the Principal at the college. In 2014, colleges in the New Collaborative Learning Trust gave 'academic scholarship' to students to attend their school if they achieved more than 5 A grades at

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

. They would give £500 to any student that applied for it with these said grades. Fletcher, the then vice principal, said all eligible students would be paid the £500, but 'we wouldn't know how many students would receive this until we opened.' This was labelled 'bribery’ by critics, and not an ‘ethical’ use of public funds, as it was widely reported that New College was the first free school to offer public money in this way.

Academics

In the academic year 2013–14 NEW College Pontefract was

Outstanding, with inspectors highlighting their heightened success rates, the development of students skills, regular rigorous assessment, and a successful management that create a culture of high expectations. They were encouraged to continue with high standards, and introduce more opportunities to look at the world of work. In September 2016 a new New College Doncaster was opened by the NCLT with New College Bradford opened in September 2019. In October 2020 it won the sixth-form college of the year at the Tes FE Awards 2020, achieving top in the country. The college was praised for its 100% pass rate and high grades making up 60% at A-level and 90% in BTEC courses. It was also praised by the judges for its employability training and training for progression to

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

, and its wide range on

extracurricular An extracurricular activity (ECA) or extra academic activity (EAA) or cultural activity is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Although approved a ...

and supercurricular activities.

Notable alumni

* Tim Bresnan – England international cricketer. * Tom Briscoe – Rugby league player for

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

side

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

, who graduated in 2008 *

Rich Johnston Richard "Rich" Johnston is a British comics creator, columnist, and founder of the comics news site ''Bleeding Cool''. '' The Comics Journal'' described Johnston as having claimed to be "the oldest extant comics news reporter on the Internet. ...

– Cartoonist, writer and journalist. * Gill Isles – TV producer. * Ryan Hall – Rugby League player for

side

* Cameron Smith – Rugby League player for

side

References

External links

New College website
{{DEFAULTSORT:New College, Pontefract 1987 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1987 Buildings and structures in the City of Wakefield Sixth form colleges in West Yorkshire Education in the City of Wakefield Pontefract