Bede Academy, Blyth

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Bede Academy
Address
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Sixth Avenue Blyth , Northumberland , NE24 2SY England
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Veritas vos liberabit (Latin) The Truth Shall Set You Free[1]
Religious affiliation(s)	Christian
Established	1 Sept 2009[2]
Founder	Sir Peter Vardy
Local authority	Northumberland
Specialist	Engineering and Enterprise[5]
Department for Education URN	135619 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal of Secondary Years	Andrew Thelwell[3]
Principal of Primary Years	Bethan Harding MBE[4]
Age	3 to 18
Website	http://www.bedeacademy.org.uk

Bede Academy is a 3–18 academy in Blyth, Northumberland, England. Opened in September 2009, it is run by the Emmanuel Schools Foundation.^[6]

Governance[]

The Emmanuel Schools Foundation (ESF), established by entrepreneur Sir Peter Vardy, had previously opened three other schools: Emmanuel City Technology College in Gateshead (1990), The King's Academy in Middlesbrough (2003) and Trinity Academy in Thorne, Doncaster (2005).

In October 2010, Vardy announced his retirement as sponsor of the group and its transition to the United Learning Trust. After exploring the integration of the ESF schools into the ULT, it was later announced in February 2012 that the Department for Education had agreed in principle to the four schools returning to their own independent governance.

Ethos and values[]

The academy has a non-denominational Christian ethos. It promotes seven core values, namely: Honourable Purpose, Humility, Compassion, Integrity, Accountability, Courage and Determination.

For children in the primary years this is simplified to "Be Good", "Be Humble", "Be Kind", "Be Honest", "Be Responsible" and "Be Brave and Determined".^[1]

Facilities[]

Building[]

The academy was purpose-built in 2009, designed by architects Howarth Litchfield Partnership with consulting engineers Cundall and was constructed by Surgo Construction. The "North" site housing the secondary school was built on the site of the former Ridley High School and the "South" primary school on the site of the former South Beach First School.^[7] Its secondary accommodation comprises over 50 classrooms, a main hall (seating 500), lecture theatre (seating 200), a large sports hall, a dance studio, fitness suite, learning resource centre, sixth form study area, drama studio, recording studio, specialist engineering rooms, restaurant and multi-use games area (MUGA). The building features natural air circulation systems, augmented by air conditioning in key rooms and has a substantial geo-thermal heating system with bores covering a large section of the car park.

For the 2012 academic year, the former Sixth Form block of Ridley High School, which had avoided demolition with the rest of the former high school as it served as the site office and base for the academic and administrative staff developing the new Academy, was redeveloped to house the Sixth Form. Two large rooms with numerous computers named Study Centres, a common room, a careers office and an additional classroom were opened on the ground floor. The Emmanuel Schools Foundation central services staff, previously at Aykley Heads, Durham, moved shortly afterward to the first floor of the newly named Trinity House.

Sports[]

In addition to the sports facilities on the North and South sites, the academy also owns the land of the former Delaval Middle School site which was developed into a cricket pitch with pavilion along with a number of other sports facilities.

Technology[]

The school has invested significantly in audio visual equipment. The Lecture Theatre is equipped with a large high-definition video screen, with multiple input vision mixing functionality, six-channel surround sound, a 48 channel sound mixing console with ethernet-based connectivity and high end loudspeakers. The Main Hall has a large, motorised lighting rig, lighting console, high-definition video screen, 48 channel sound mixing console, theatre-style technical communications system and pre-wired audio, visual, lighting control and ethernet connectivity. The Recording Studio is based around an Avid C|24 control surface and personal computer running Pro Tools.^{[citation needed]}

Leadership[]

During the school's initial development, Nigel McQuoid, former Principal of Emmanuel College, Gateshead and subsequently ESF's Director of Schools, was the Executive Principal of Bede Academy to whom the Principals of the Primary and Secondary Years reported. McQuoid left the organisation a few months prior to the completion of the building and the school's opening.

From 2009 to 2010 Liz Clubbs, formerly Headteacher at South Beach First School, was the founding Principal of the primary years with Gwyneth Evans, who was previously a Vice-Principal at sister school Emmanuel College, Gateshead, leading the secondary years. Gwyneth Evans then became Principal with Irene Watson and subsequently Bethan Harding MBE serving as the headteacher of the primary years site.^[4] In June 2018, Gwyneth Evans announced she was to leave at the end of the academic year and was replaced in April 2019 by Mr Andrew Thelwell.

In 2013, Jonathan Winch, Principal of Emmanuel College, was appointed Executive Principal of Bede Academy. Winch has now moved to oversee one of the ESF Academies in Thorne, while the CEO of ESF is Professor Mark Pike. The board of the ESF is available online.

Principals and Head Teachers

Dates	Executive Principal	Principal	Principal (Secondary)	Principal (Primary)	Head of Primary
2008-2009	Nigel McQuoid	None	Gwyneth Evans	Liz Clubbs	None
2009-2010	None
2010-2011		Gwyneth Evans	None	None	Irene Watson
2011-2012
2012-2013
2013-2014	Jonathan Winch
2014-2015
2015-2016
2016-2017					Bethan Harding
2017-2018
2018-2019		Julie Roberts [Acting Principal]
2019-2020	None	None	Andrew Thelwell	Bethan Harding	None
2020-2021

School Life[]

Curriculum[]

The academy follows the National Curriculum and has academic specialists grouped into Mathematics, English, Science (including physics, chemistry and biology specialists), Engineering, Sport, Modern Foreign Languages (teaching French and German but running clubs for Spanish and Italian), History, Geography, Music, Drama and Philosophy, Theology and Ethics (encompassing religious, personal and social education) departments.

Publications[]

The academy publishes a newsletter, Bede Chronicle,^[8] once per term and an annual Year Book^[9] each autumn.

Events[]

The academy regularly hosts events for students, parents and the local community. These have included concerts featuring the Reg Vardy Band,^[10] talent shows, quizzes and cookery competitions. Its major productions have so far included a musical version of George Orwell's Animal Farm in June 2010, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in March 2011, Lionel Bart's Oliver! in March 2012, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in March 2013, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera in December 2013 and Charles Strouse's Annie in March 2015, Les Misérables in October 2016, Sound of Music in October 2017, and recently Evita in July 2019.

Sport[]

The academy has a major focus on sporting activities and runs teams for a number of different sports, many of which have won local and regional titles. It competes in rugby, hockey, netball, cricket, rowing, fencing, and tennis. It has also hosted summer schools and weekly coaching sessions with Newcastle United Football Club and the Newcastle Eagles basketball team.

The schools of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation also host the annual ESF Olympics, in which students participate against their peers from the other schools in the group.

Houses[]

Each pupil is placed into a school 'House' used for inter-school competitions and sports matches:^[11]

•   Aiden
•   Cuthbert
•   Oswald

Points are accumulated over the year and the winning House is presented with the House Cup at the annual Presentation Day.

Other Emmanuel Schools[]

School	Location
Emmanuel College	Gateshead
The King's Academy	Middlesbrough
Trinity Academy	Doncaster
Grace College	Gateshead
Christ's College	Sunderland

References[]

External links[]

• Bede Academy website
• DCSF EduBase details for Bede Academy

Coordinates: 55°07′01″N 1°31′14″W / 55.11695°N 1.52058°W / 55.11695; -1.52058