The Dean Academy

The Dean Academy (formerly Whitecross School) is a mixed secondary school located in Lydney in the English county of Gloucestershire.^[1]

Previously a foundation school administered by Gloucestershire County Council, Whitecross School converted to academy status on 1 November 2012 and was renamed The Dean Academy. However the school continues to coordinate with Gloucestershire County Council for admissions. As an academy, the school was previously part of the Prospects Academies Trust. However, in May 2014 it was announced that the trust was to cease operations,^[2] and The Dean Academy formally joined the Athelstan Academy Trust in March 2015.^[3] Athelstan Academy Trust also includes Malmesbury School and Bradon Forest School in Wiltshire.^[4]

The Dean Academy offers GCSEs, BTECs, OCR Nationals and ASDAN courses programmes of study for pupils.^[5] The school also offers hair and beauty courses delivered at the schools purpose built salon.

In November 2015, the Dean Academy was put into special measures after a critical Ofsted report, and the headteacher David Gaston resigned.^[6] Following the resignation of David Gaston, the academy transferred control temporarily to John Barrett throughout the 2015-2016 school year. In September 2016 the new permanent head of school Tom Beveridge took post and continues to be at the helm of the school.

Location

The Dean Academy is located on the edge of Lydney, a small river-side town in the Royal Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. Gloucestershire is located in the South West of England. The school currently sits on Church Road near Bathurst Park, ST. Mary's Church and Lydney Town Hall.

Leadership and Senior Structure

Leadership has been a severe problem over the past 12 years resulting in the school being placed and kept in Special Measures for nearly a decade. Until November 2015, the academy and former school had been under the leadership of Mr David Gaston. After an appalling review from Ofsted Inspectors that year, David resigned, however the Chief Executive Officer of the Athelstan Trust at the time confirmed that the Ofsted report was not the cause of the Principal's sudden departure.

Following the departure of David Gaston, John Barrett took the role of Acting Head teacher from November 2015 until July 2016. John Barrett introduced new action plans to aid the school in improving to a better standard. John Barrett was only in role until the interview process for a new head of school had taken place and the new head was ready to take on their role.

In September 2016, the new head of school had been chosen and was ready to start work. This new head was Tom Beveridge. Beveridge continues to build strategies to help improve the academy with John Barrett taking a new role as Executive Head Teacher, aiding Mr Beveridge in his aims to make the academy a better place to work and learn.

The Head of School and Executive Head Teacher are supported by a large infrastructure of Senior Leadership and Faculty Leadership staff. There is currently one Acting Deputy Head Teacher, Declan Mooney. There are also two Assistant Head Teachers, Matt Ball and Emily Smith who work closely with the Deputy Head and the Head of School.

The Head of School also has a Personal Assistant who aids him in his daily duties as Head of School as well as relaying information and messages between the leadership and senior staff.

At the next level down, Directors of Faculty and Assistant Directors of Faculty run each department including resources, teaching and learning and other duties. There are 7 faculties that build up the school, each having their own leadership staff to direct teachers to achieve better standards of teaching and learning.

Notable Former Pupils

Whitecross School

• Wayne Barnes, Rugby Union Referee
• Andy Lewis, Rio 2016 Paralympic Gold Medallist

References

External links

• The Dean Academy