Swindon Academy


Swindon Academy is a non-selective co-educational school within the English academy programme, in the Pinehurst area of Swindon, north of the town centre. It caters for children aged 3 to 19 and has 1,769 pupils on roll.

History

The history of senior school education in Swindon can be traced back to the 19th century. In 1943, the College and Euclid Street Secondary Schools amalgamated to become Headlands Grammar School, a selective mixed school for those who passed the Eleven plus. With some 800 boys and girls, it moved into new buildings on the site of the present school in 1952. In 1964, the Grammar School became a comprehensive school for students aged 14–19, changing its name to the Headlands School. It later lost its Sixth form, becoming an 11–16 school. The Headlands Comprehensive School was closed on 31 August 2004, and on 1 September 2004, a school called Headlands School was established as a community school.
As a result of a further merging of schools, Swindon Academy opened on the site in September 2007, replacing Headlands School, Pinehurst Junior School, and Pinehurst Infant School. The former grammar school buildings were demolished in December 2009.

Admissions

It is run by United Learning, formerly the United Church Schools Trust.
It operates on a non-denominational basis, but follows the Christian, specifically Church of England, ethos of its parent organisation.
It is situated in the civil parish of Stratton St Margaret, near Upper Stratton and Pinehurst at the junction of Cricklade Road and Beechcroft Road. It is in the parish of St Philip, Swindon in the north of Swindon.

Academic performance

From the formation of the Swindon LEA in 1997 until the school's closure in 2006, Headlands was consistently 2nd from bottom or bottom of the Swindon schools league table when based on Level 2 results. On at least one occasion, it was also bottom of the National league table.
Since being replaced by the Swindon Academy, results have improved and despite being the lowest ranking in Swindon for the years 2008 and 2009, the Academy is currently fourth from bottom if measured on Level 2 results. The Academy achieved a score 72% for five A*–C grades at GCSE, although the number achieving five A*–C grade GCSEs including maths and English is 37%, or 31% if GCSE equivalents are excluded.
When measured on this criteria, the Swindon Academy is bottom of the Swindon league table, and has been since its creation in 2007. It is also well below the Swindon and national averages when based on this measurement.

Alumni

Headlands School