- The Morley Academy
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The Morley Academy Motto To Learn, To Serve Established 1907 Type Community & Private Religion Mixed Principal Mr. John Le Townsley Location Fountain Street
Morley
West Yorkshire
LS27 0PD
EnglandLocal authority City of Leeds Students 1505 Gender Mixed Ages 11–18 Houses Einstein, Franklin, Turing and Quant Colours Red, Green, Yellow and Purple Website School website Coordinates: 53°44′35″N 1°36′04″W / 53.74316°N 1.60108°W
The Morley Academy is a co-educational comprehensive school for pupils ages 11–19 in West Yorkshire, England. Morley is situated 5 miles south-west of Leeds city centre with a population of about 50,000. The school has approximately 1,400 students enrolled. The head teacher is John Townsley. The school is one of only four in the United Kingdom to have been awarded the Investors in People Champions Award.
Contents
Historical background
The school was first established as Morley Secondary School on 4 July 1907, becoming Morley Grammar School in 1930. The first head teacher was John Robinson Airey (1868–1937) who was a nationally renowned mathematician.[1] It became a mixed comprehensive in 1975. The school has had six different headteachers. During the First World War, pupils at Morley Grammar school raised £5,000 to pay for the correct uniform for struggling families within the school.
On 1 January 2011, Morley High School became The Morley Academy under the government's new academy programme. It is the only one in Morley eligible to get the status, due to it being the only one judged "outstanding" by Ofsted.
Academic performance
Artsmark
In July 2001, the Arts Council awarded the school the Artsmark at the Silver level. The school was one of only three in Leeds and of only thirteen in Yorkshire to be so recognised.[2] The Morley Academy is a Specialist Technology College.
Headteacher controversy
The head teacher, John Townsley, has proved controversial since taking over from Dr Roland Walker. On one hand, Ofsted claimed that the school has academically improved since his inception.[3] Despite these improvements, a climate of fear and bullying has been reported within the school and also at Farnley Park High, where John Townsley is also a head teacher. In 2010, Farnley Park High took strike action over the issue.[4]
The introduction of the fingerprint system at Morley High School has also proved controversial, with some parents and pupils claiming they were forced into a fascist system not respecting their civil liberties.[5]
The head teacher has also been accused of improving Ofsted results by hiding the more badly behaved pupils and deliberately setting up inspectors with prepared students.[6]
Ofsted
In their 2006 inspection, Ofsted found that the school was "satisfactory and improving".[7] In its 2009 inspection, the school was granted the "Outstanding" grade by Ofsted.
School musical productions
- 2002 - West Side Story
- 2003 - The Little Shop of Horrors
- 2004 - Oliver
- 2005 - Jesus Christ Superstar
- 2006 - Scrooge
- 2007 - Romeo and Juliet
- 2008 - High School Musical
- 2009 - Sweeney Todd
- 2010 - Return To The Forbidden Planet
- 2011 - Les Misérables
Alumni
Morley Grammar School
- Sir Edwin Bolland KCMG, Ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1980-2, and Bulgaria from 1973-6
- Herbert Heaton, historian
- Prof John Lakey, President of the International Radiation Protection Association from 1988–92, and of the Institution of Nuclear Engineers from 1988–90
- Prof Stephen Proctor, Professor of Haematology at Newcastle University since 1991
- Prof Derek Saunders CBE, Professor of Polymer Physics and Engineering at Cranfield University from 1967–87, and President of the Plastics and Rubber Institute from 1990-1 and the Plastics Institute from 1983-5 (became part of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in 1993)
- Robert Stead CBE, Controller of the BBC North region from 1958–69
- Brian Turner CBE, chef, and President since 2004 of the Academy of Culinary Arts
- Michael Whitlam CBE, Chief Executive of the RNID from 1986–90, and Director General from 1991-9 of the British Red Cross
References
- ^ Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 98 (1938), 243-244 Obituary: John Robinson Airey
- ^ Arts Council award
- ^ Ofsted report[dead link]
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ Ofsted report[dead link]
External links
Categories:- Educational institutions established in 1909
- Schools in Leeds
- Technology Colleges in England
- Academies in West Yorkshire
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