Great Yarmouth Charter Academy
Great Yarmouth Charter Academy is a coeducational comprehensive school on Salisbury Road in the town of Great Yarmouth in the English county of Norfolk. It educates about 920 11 to 19-year-old pupils, the age of entry having decreased from twelve to eleven in 2008. The school is host to the Sir Isaac Newton East sixth form which is partnered to Norwich based Sir Isaac Newton Sixth Form. The nearest other post-16 centres are East Coast College - (Great Yarmouth Campus) and the East Norfolk Sixth Form College in the Gorleston-on-Sea area of the town.
| Great Yarmouth Charter Academy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
Salisbury Road , , NR30 4LS | |
| Coordinates | 52.62007°N 1.7366°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Free school |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
| Established | 1551 |
| Local authority | Norfolk |
| Trust | Inspiration Trust |
| Department for Education URN | 142883 Tables |
| Chair of the Governors | Shelia Oxtoby |
| Principal | Dean Rosembert |
| Senior Vice Principal | Sean Powell |
| Staff | 102 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 19 |
| Enrolment | 894 pupils |
| Capacity | 1500 |
| Colour(s) | Red and black |
| Website | http://www.gyca.org.uk |
History
The former Great Yarmouth Grammar School, which was founded in 1551, became the comprehensive Great Yarmouth High School in September 1982. It is also the ultimate successor institution for the Great Yarmouth High School for Girls. In 1998 the school was awarded Technology College Specialist Status and in 1999 was designated V.A (Christian non-denominational) reflecting the terms of its Foundation, under the jurisdiction of Norfolk LEA.[1] In November 2008 the Technology Specialist College status ended as the school became a Humanities Specialist College.
In 2016, the school was rated as "inadequate" in an Ofsted inspection.[2] It was closed and reopened in 2017 as Great Yarmouth Charter Academy,[3] having been taken over by the Inspiration Trust, under the leadership of Barry Smith who introduced a new behaviour policy.[4] A subsequent surprise inspection noted that before the new behaviour policy was introduced, a large number of pupils told the inspector that "they often felt unsafe at school", but that "During this unannounced inspection, all of the large number of pupils who spoke with inspectors said that they now feel safe at school".[5]
Merger & Aftermath
In September 2017 Great Yarmouth Charter Academy and Trafalgar College merged to form a single school. The school operated on two sites until September 2019 when the Thamesfield Way campus closed and all pupils are now taught on the Salisbury Road site.
A sixth form college, Sir Isaac Newton East, was launched in 2021. The college is modelled on and works in partnership with the Sir Isaac Newton Sixth Form in Norwich.[6]
The school branding is based on a simplified version of the arms of the town (gules, three lions of England, dimidiated by azure, three herrings argent).
Inspection reports
On 21 Feb 2018 an unannounced Ofsted monitoring visit found safeguarding to be effective. Following an inspection in July 2019 the school was rated as "good". The main areas of improvement needed were with 'leadership and management', 'behaviour and attendance' and teaching.[7][8]
Notable former pupils
Great Yarmouth Grammar School
- Rt Rev David Edward Bentley, Bishop of Gloucester 1993–2003
- Rt Rev Kenneth Bevan, missionary bishop in China 1940-50
- Prof Kenneth Fielding, Saintsbury Professor of English Literature 1966–84 at the University of Edinburgh[9]
- Sir Arthur Hawkins, Chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board 1972–77
- John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer[10]
- Sir Kenneth MacMillan, choreographer[11]
- Jack Pateman CBE, avionics engineer for Elliott Brothers, now called BAE Systems Avionics, and a patent holder of fly-by-wire systems[12]
- Malcolm Sayer, car designer
- Prof Robert Steel CBE, Vice-Chancellor 1979–81 of Swansea University, President in 1968 of the Institute of British Geographers (merged with the Royal Geographical Society in 1995)
- Jason Statham, English Actor
Great Yarmouth High School for Girls
- Naomi Lewis, poet, essayist and literary critic
References
- "Education jobs online". Eteach.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
- Murphy, Rebecca (10 May 2016). "Great Yarmouth High School is put into special measures". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- Issimdar, Mariam (20 September 2017). "Pupils withdrawn from 'strict' academy". BBC News.
- Powell, Luke (14 March 2018). "Ofsted praises improvements at Norfolk school after concerns spark unannounced visit". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- George, Martin (13 March 2018). "Ofsted backs school that banned 'meet me at McDonald's' haircut". TES. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- Thomoson, Emily (15 November 2021). "New sixth form college launches in Great Yarmouth". Great Yarmouth Mercury. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- "Ofsted success for Great Yarmouth Charter Academy". Inspiration Trust. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- Whymark, Bethany (19 July 2019). "Controversial academy and principal praised by inspectors". Great Yarmouth Mercury. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- "Professor Kenneth Fielding - Obituaries, News". The Independent. London. 6 June 2005. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
- Dickson, Annabelle. "Great Yarmouth boy John McDonnell made shadow chancellor by Jeremy Corbyn". Great Yarmouth Mercury.
- Parry, Jann. "MacMillan, Sir Kenneth (1929–1992)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, January 2008, retrieved 22 November 2014 (subscription or UK public library membership required)