Thomas Deacon Academy

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Thomas Deacon Academy
Established 2007
Type Academy
Principal Julie Taylor
Location Queen's Gardens
Peterborough
Cambridgeshire
PE1 2UW
England Coordinates: 52°35′15″N 0°14′03″W / 52.5876°N 0.2341°W / 52.5876; -0.2341
Local authority Peterborough City Council
DfE URN 135263 Tables
Ofsted Reports
Students 2200
Gender Mixed
Ages 11–19
Houses Arts, Communications, Humanities, Maths, Science and Technology
Website www.thomasdeaconacademy.com

The Thomas Deacon Academy is an academy located in Peterborough, England. Built by contractors Laing O'Rourke to a design by Foster and Partners and Buro Happold, the academy's construction began in June 2005, and it opened to students in September 2007. The academy houses approximately 2,200 students ranging from ages 1119 and was built on the site of Deacon's School in Queen's Gardens, Dogsthorpe.[1]

The total cost of the Thomas Deacon Academy is estimated at £46.4 million.[2] The Evening Telegraph has reported that this has risen to £50 million.[3] Contributors to the academy include Peterborough City Council, Perkins Engines and Deacon's School Trust,[4] a charity created by the will of Thomas Deacon in 1721.

The teaching and student bodies combined the students and staff of three local schools: Deacon's School, John Mansfield School and Hereward Community College, all of which closed in July 2007. Thus allowing The academy to open in September of the same year. The academy initially offered the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme to its sixth form students as an alternative to A-Levels, but abandoned it in 2009 due to the IB being not cost-effective for the small number of students who choose to do it.

The academy uses a college system, with six areas of focus - maths, science, communications, humanities, arts and technology. The college system is intended to ensure that the school does not lose sight of individual students.[5]

An average day at the Academy starts at 8.45am and finishes at 2.45pm, but students may also attend after-school activities and additional lessons.[6] The school initially attracted controversy because it lacked a playground and no outside breaks were planned.[1][2][6] However the students are now allowed outside during lunch breaks, but only in a small enclosed area.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "No playground for 'super-school'". BBC News. 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Geraldine Hackett (2007-05-06). "All work, no play at Blair flagship school". The Times. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 
  3. Asha Mehta (2007-08-16). "'I hope the children are also excited about this as I am'". The Evening Telegraph. Peterborough Today. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 
  4. Deacon's School Trust, Registered Charity no. 311852 at the Charity Commission
  5. Colleges, Thomas Deacon Academy.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Anushka Asthana (2007-08-26). "No break, no balls in school of the future". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 

External links

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