The Birley Academy
| The Birley Academy | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to the school (2009) | |
| Address | |
 | |
Birley Lane , , S12 3BP England | |
| Coordinates | 53°20′33″N 1°24′07″W / 53.3425°N 1.4020°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Local authority | City of Sheffield |
| Department for Education URN | 143963 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Headmistress | Gina Newton |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 16 |
| Enrolment | c. 1,200 |
| Website | http://www.birleysecondaryacademy.co.uk/ |
The Birley Academy, previously known as Birley Community College, is a secondary school in Birley, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.
Facilities
The school is split into three levels, the topmost one being the modern foreign languages block; the first floor being English, Languages, Science, Art, Food Technology and Graphics; and the ground floor containing Maths, History, Creative iMedia, Drama, Music, Geography, BTEC Tourism, Resistant Materials, PE and Religious Studies.
The school has a Main Hall with a projected screen for presentations. The school has many areas to eat lunch, or to a have break. There are seating areas outside the Music, Maths, Design Technology and The Hub. The main areas to eat are the canteen (dining hall) where students can order food and sit there, outside the Hot and Cold Snack Bars, where there are numbers of seating, the DT quad, where students can sit outside and the main hall, where the large seats are pulled up to make space for dining tables, this means there are always places to sit.
The Hub is a quiet place where any children with anxieties may go and sit at break and lunch times, with staff there to assist.
The school contains a learning resource centre equipped with technology such as interactive whiteboards and computer systems. The school also has dedicated special needs previsions, with a pastoral care department and a separate section of the school, the Interactive Resources Unit, dedicated to assisting children with learning difficulties access mainstream education. Birley also has a Drama Studio with fully equipped lighting and sound and a large number of instruments and electronic musical equipment (i.e. Mac computers, synth drums) in the Music department.
Admissions
Courses available at Birley are: Maths, English, Science, single, double & triple awards), Food Preparation and Nutrition, Graphics, Creative iMedia, Art, Music, Drama, History, BTEC Sport Science, BTEC Travel And Tourism, Geography, BTEC Engineering and GCSE French.
Headteachers
- 2009-11: Mr Wood
- 2011-12: Mrs Woodcock
- 2012-17: Mr Robinson (initially Acting Head)
- 2017–present: Mrs Gina Newton
The school is part of the LEAD Trust with Charnock Hall Primary School, Birley Primary School and others.
Inspections
In the 2010 Ofsted school inspection, the school achieved an overall 'Good'.
In the 2015 Ofsted school inspection, the school received a 'Requires Improvement'.
Buildings
The construction of the new building finished in early January 2013.
The site is off the A6135 (former A616) in south-east Sheffield, north of Birley Lane tram stop at the Fairway Inn.[1]
History
Thornbridge School
It is the former Thornbridge School, the former Thornbridge Grammar School also known as Birley Thornbridge Grammar School. The first headmaster of Thornbridge Comprehensive School was Walter Snook.
Birley School
The school has connections with the village of Pwani Mchangani, Zanzibar.[2]
Birley Secondary Modern School existed in the 1960s.
It was renamed The Birley Academy in 2017.
Notable former pupils
Thornbridge Grammar School
- Phil Burgan - racing driver and businessman
- Tommy Eyre - Musician
Thornbridge School
- George Hinchliffe - musician, founder of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Birley Community College
- Regan Slater - Professional footballer. (Midfielder)
Former teachers
- Veronica Hardstaff from 1986-94 she taught French and German, Labour MEP from 1994-99 for Lincolnshire and Humberside South (the only MEP it had), and married to Alan Billings, the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner since 2016
See also
- Totley-Thornbridge College of Education also known as Totley Hall College of Education, which became part of Sheffield City Polytechnic in 1976
References
- ^ Fairway Inn
- ^ cyec - Commonwealth Youth Exchange CouncilArchived 21 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine[failed verification]