Gloucester Academy
Gloucester Academy, was formed as a merger of Bishop's College, a mixed CofE school and Central Technology College, a boys school, starting life on the site of the old Technology College located in Derby Road, Gloucester, England. It was converted to an academy in September 2010. It educates 825 students aged 11 to 16.

Every day is an open day 
Every day is an open day at Gloucester Academy, visit gloucesteracademy.co.uk and book a ‘school in action tour’. Come and see one of the most improved schools in the country, it will take great pride in showing you around.

Gloucester Academy, Greenshaw Learning Trust 
Gloucester Academy is a co-educational, fully comprehensive school for students aged 11 to 16 years old in Gloucester., Managed by Greenshaw Learning Trust from 1st of June 2020. The headteacher is Phillipa Lewis.

Mrs Lewis :

“I am extremely proud to be Headteacher of Gloucester Academy and to write the next chapter of its incredible journey as it becomes one of the most improved schools in the country.

The success of the school is down to the dedication of the staff within it, the astounding work ethic of our students who go on to achieve great outcomes and the support from our community.

At our heart is the belief that our students will be exceptional and have the ambition, drive and opportunity to climb their own personal mountains to the very best universities and professions. We believe that maintaining  the very highest expectations for our staff and students strengthens our ability to climb. We leave nothing to chance, we make deliberate choices, we leave no one behind and we climb together.

Our students have Pride, Excellence and Ambition in the way they conduct themselves, in the way they learn and in the way they can articulate their route to a successful future.

Our staff have Ambition with high expectations and aspirations for everyone, we learn from the best and think big, we have faith in ourselves and each other.

Excellence in everything we do. We cut no corners and have no excuses. We work collaboratively to achieve the best for our community.

We have Pride in our school community, we develop talent , celebrate diversity, show kindness and compassion, we climb together and achieve together.”

History
The school has had a long past of changes of management over the years,

Mrs H. Anthony took over the role of Headmistress from E. Cole in 2006. The incorporation of the Ninestiles Foundation, and Sir D. Hutt improved the school's reputation. The Multi Use Games Area (M.U.G.A) sports facility was opened in 2007. The Central Technology College was closed in 2010 to make way for a new academy. The former Central Technology College building (located in Cotteswold Road) was used temporarily as the academy site, until the new building was completed. In September 2013, the new building was completed and all academy operations were transferred on to the new site (now located on Painswick Road).. The building cost around £15 million to construct, but was almost cancelled on several occasions, as local residents were unhappy with possible light pollution and noise the new site would bring. However, after many negotiations, all parties were happy by December 2012 and construction began.

As an academy, the school was previously part of the Prospects Academies Trust. The trust oversaw the introduction of a new headteacher 'Mr S Badat', who had worked in many challenging schools previously, for example The Essa Academy in Bolton. However, in May 2014 it was announced that the trust was to cease operations, and Gloucester Academy formally joined the White Horse Federation in March 2015.

On 1 June 2020 the academy was officially overtaken by Greenshaw Learning Trust.  It was Late January when the switch was prompted. Headteacher, Mr Paul Holroyd, was replaced by Mr Johnathan Heap.

Before Gloucester Academy was changed to being managed by Greenshaw Learning Trust, Gloucester Academy has had 13 Head Teachers/Principals since opening in 2010. Some of these were substantive Principles whilst others were temporary post holders. This has led to a huge issue with stability at the academy, which has led to a lack of improvement and development as the academy has been in Special Measures or Inadequate for 7 out of the 9 years that it has been in operation.

Out of the 19 Principals, only three have been permanent positions:

Mr John Reilly: Stepped down as headteacher in September 2013, after overseeing the new building finished and all operations transferred to the new site following a poor ofsted report and weak exam results.

Mr Showk Badat: a so-called ‘superhead’ brought to the Academy by Prospects Trust to help raise achievement and improve the 'school community'. Mr Badat also shortened the academy day on Friday, and introduced 'Enrichment Activities' for pupils to take part in. His overall plan was to provide every pupil with their own iPad to use in the classroom to aid with their learning. However he resigned on 22 May 2015 due to family commitments. He was later replaced by Mr Ian Frost.

Mr Ian Frost: Took over the top job in September 2015, and initially had some success with the school being removed from Special Measures and being rated as Requires Improvement with a Good judgement for Leadership & Management by Ofsted. Despite this, improvements were not sustained and exam outcomes were poor, Mr Frost subsequently resigned with immediate effect in April 2018 following the school being placed in Special Measures for the third time since opening in 2010. He has been replaced for the moment by the current Vice Principal Mr Andy Vinton who is Acting Principal, supported by White Horse Federation's Director of School Improvement Mrs Helen Glass, who was previously Headteacher at Gloucester Academy's predecessor school Central Technology College. In September 2018 it was announced that Mrs Glass had resigned from her role along with three members of the governing body creating yet more instability for the struggling school.

Mr Jonathan Heap: Thanks to the movement from White Horse Federation to Greenshaw Learning Trust, Mr Heap took over the job in February 2020..

Local News and Social Media 

Thursday, October 6 2022, we were awarded the School of Character Kitemark by the Association for Character Education - At Gloucester Academy (GA), character plays a huge part in our students' development in becoming responsible citizens . We believe that character is the student's compass, and this is what they use to climb their own personal mountain to the very best universities and professions.

The '4 o'clock club' making the transition to secondary education exciting for new pupils - From taster lessons to meeting current Gloucester Academy staff and students, the process is designed to make the move as stress-free as possible.

Early 2022 - Unfortunately there were two similar instances of students being subjected to bullying and assault at the school that were filmed and shared across social media by fellow pupils in the first six months of 2022.

August 2023 - Gloucester Academy achieves best outcomes in schools history in 2023 GCSEs - For the second year in a row Gloucester Academy is proud to report that the school has achieved its best ever set of GCSE examination outcomes. The results are not only the very best in the school’s history, but will place the school as one of the schools who continues to show a rapid and sustained improvement following a challenging few years for many in the Education sector. We would like to thank all of our parents/carers, the local community and most importantly the fantastic students for all of their support to make sure the young people of Gloucester receive the very best start in life.

References

External links
 

Boys' schools in Gloucestershire
Schools in Gloucester
Secondary schools in Gloucestershire
Academies in Gloucestershire