Lord Grey Academy

In 1951 the Wilton County Secondary School opened on Rickley Lane.[11] Five years later the Bletchley Grammar School would open for 151 students in Bletchley Park, with an additional provision of technical education. Bletchley Grammar School's headmaster was Donald Halewood and its senior mistress F. Marrison.[12] In December 1962 a new tower block was built on the grammar school site in order to accommodate the grown student population of 530. In 1973 Bletchley Grammar School closed for amalgamation with Wilton County Secondary School and its students were transferred.[6] Wilton County Secondary School would officially amalgamate with Bletchley Grammar School in January 1973, becoming known as Lord Grey Comprehensive School.[13]

Lord Grey Comprehensive School opened in 1973 and was a community school. The previous facilities of Wilton County Secondary School were expanded upon, providing new accommodation. On 1 April 1993 the school became grant-maintained and on 1 September 1999 it became a foundation school. Between 1998 and 2002 the school became a specialist language college and received renovations.[5] By the 2000s the school was called Lord Grey School.[9][2]

In 2000 Headteacher Despina Pavlou was appointed. Pavlou would prove a divisive figure because of her strict zero-tolerance administration and anti-bullying policies. Under her tenure the school had a 97% GCSE pass rate and in 2003 the school was rated as "good" by Ofsted.[2] Despite this she was accused of bullying and harassing staff and pupils and of using "school money to buy champagne, wine, a wooden shed and a business class flight to Australia."[14][15] Pavlou and her school governors were sued by a former pupil who claimed to have been illegally excluded after being accused of arson in a school classroom. Although the pupil initially lost the battle, he won damages after an appeal.[16][17] In March 2006, Pavlou was reported to have punched Deputy Headteacher Linda Lennox in the face during an argument regarding her zero-tolerance policies. This resulted in her being forced to remote work and in her replacement as head by Roger Conibear, however she was not suspended. A police investigation was undertaken[18][19] and Pavlou was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct some years later. She was then banned from working as both a head or deputy head.[14][15] During this period the school motto was "Excellence: Dare to Succeed".[20]

Roger Conibear would be replaced that same year by Jill Coughlan MBE who would serve as headteacher until 2009. Under her tenure the school became a specialist humanities college in 2006, fell from good to satisfactory in the Ofsted ranks in 2007 and was granted Comenius status.[5][21] She would leave in 2009 to be replaced by Weston Favell School Headteacher Tracey Jones. Before becoming headteacher at Weston Favell, Jones was previously the deputy head of Lord Grey. This therefore meant she was returning to the school.[22] In 2014 the school was graded as good yet again. In 2016 Jones' school uniform policies fell victim to mainstream media coverage after she called students who wore short-skirts and slim-fitting trousers "hefty" after banning them, resulting in parents accusing her of fat shaming.[23] Jones defended herself and made the point that wearing such attire would cause bullying.[24][25]

In 2018 the school began its academisation process. The school would be sponsored by the Tove Learning Trust, a member of the SWAN Teaching School Alliance.[26][27] The school would become an academy on 1 April, relinquishing its specialisms in language and the humanities. As a result the school's name changed from Lord Grey School to Lord Grey Academy and the position of headteacher was renamed to principal.[28][4]

Principal Tracey Jones left on 31 August 2018, being succeeded by Jim Parker.[4] In 2021 the school motto changed from "Aspire, Learn, Achieve" to "Lord Grey Can".[29][30] Sometime between May and September 2021 Principal Jim Parker became executive principal, with his duties now being fulfilled by Associate Principal Samantha Satyanadhan under his supervision.[31][32] Parker is also executive principal at Stantonbury School, where his associate principal is Ben Wilson.[33]