The Littlehampton Academy
 | |
| Motto | Respect, Explore, Aspire, Persevere |
|---|---|
| Established | 2009 |
| Type | Academy |
| Religion | Christian |
| Headteacher | Marianne Gentilli |
| Chaplain | Paul Sanderson[1] |
| Chair of Academy Council | Julie Burnett-Kirk |
| Location |
Fitzalan Road Littlehampton West Sussex BN17 6FE England Coordinates: 50°48′58″N 0°32′02″W / 50.81603°N 0.53384°W |
| Local authority | West Sussex |
| DfE URN | 135745 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Students | 1,695 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours |
Light blue and Purple |
| Sponsors | Woodard Academy Trust |
| Chapters |
Mandela Roddick Shakespeare Teresa |
| Website | Academy Website |
The Littlehampton Academy is a large, mixed gender academy, sponsored by Woodard Schools and West Sussex County Council, in Littlehampton, West Sussex which opened in September 2009. The academy replaced The Littlehampton Community School, which closed in August 2009.[2]
Establishment
The proposal of an academy in Littlehampton was first made in 2007, shortly after The Littlehampton Community School lost out to Bognor Regis Community College in the bidding for a full rebuild under the Building Schools for the Future.[3][4] Shortly afterwards, the school and Woodard Schools signed an agreement to work together to turn the school into the academy, alongside two other establishments in West Sussex.[5] The Department for Children, Schools and Families formally approved the academy proposals in September 2008,[6] announcing that the existing establishment would close on 31 August 2009.[7] The Littlehampton Academy opened on the same site, and using the same buildings, the next day on 1 September.
Campus and Buildings
On its opening, the Academy inherited a range of old and modern buildings previously accommodating the predecessor Littlehampton Community School. A central aim and aspiration of the conversion to Academy status was to facilitate the construction of a modern school building that would bring the majority of the school within one building. Plans were submitted to West Sussex County Council for approval on 6 August 2010 for the demolition of most of the existing buildings, to be replaced with an Academy building with a capacity of 1,900 students.[8] The application received planning permission from the council on 2 November 2010.
Construction of the new buildings commenced in December 2010, and lasted for 18 months. During this time, the Academy continued to operate as normal in existing buildings, with the construction of the new building taking place on what had been school fields. The new building was completed on time in June 2012, with students moving in at the start of the 2012/13 academic year in September 2012. This move was followed by the demolition of the now derelict buildings that had been vacated, followed by landscaping.[9]
Problems with the new Buildings
On the opening week of the academic year 2012/13, the school experienced numerous fire drills, this was resolved after two weeks to be a fault in the system. In the same academic year on March 23rd 2013 a hot water pipe burst in the art and designs wing, this was discovered after the fire alarm sounded before school started calling the fire service out. The electricity to the rooms affected by the flood were isolated and later salvaged and returned to their previous states. The cause of the leak was never disclosed. [10]
During the academic year 2014/15, on the 23rd October 2014 the school was evacuated at 2:30pm due to a gas leak in the new building. The school was declared safe later the same day. [11]
Headteachers
2009–2013: Steve Jewell
2014–: Marianne Gentilli
References
- ↑ The Littlehampton Academy - July 2009 Newsletter
- ↑ BBC News - Schools close under academy plan
- ↑ Major School Investment in Bognor and Littlehampton
- ↑ West Sussex County Council: Exciting Plans to make Littlehampton Community School an Academy
- ↑ BBC News - Three schools to become academies
- ↑ BBC News - Government approves two academies
- ↑ BBC News - Schools close under academies plan
- ↑ "Planning Application WSCC/083/10/LU". West Sussex County Council. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ↑ "Design and build". West Sussex County Council. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ↑ "Burst Pipe". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ "Gas Leak". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
External links
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