Woodham Academy

Woodham Academy (simply referred to as Woodham, formerly Woodham Community Technology College and Woodham Comprehensive School) is an 11–16 mixed secondary school with academy status in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, England. Established in 1970 as a foundation school, it adopted its present name after becoming an academy in 2012. It is part of the Eden Learning Trust.

Woodham Academy
Address
Washington Crescent Newton Aycliffe , County Durham , DL5 4AX England
Coordinates	54°38′N 1°34′W
Information
Other name	Woodham
Former names	Woodham Community Technology College (1999–2012) Woodham Comprehensive School (1970–1999)
Type	Academy
Motto	Achievement for All
Established	29 June 1970 (1970-06-29)
Local authority	Durham County Council
Trust	Eden Learning Trust
Department for Education URN	138717 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headteacher	Andrew Bell
Gender	Mixed
Age range	11–16
Enrolment	1038 (2024)[1]
Capacity	1,100[1]
Colour(s)	Black, grey, gold, green     [2]
Rival	Greenfield Academy
Website	www.woodham.org.uk

History

Woodham Comprehensive School: 1970 to 1999

Woodham Community Technology College

Woodham Comprehensive was a foundation school^[3] that opened on 29 June 1970 by Alice Bacon, Baroness Bacon, a former Labour MP. It was built under the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme.^[4]

As well as Woodham and Greenfield schools there was a third secondary school in Newton Aycliffe called "The Avenue Comprehensive" which was closed in 1992 and amalgamated with Woodham. It was created from two former secondary schools; Marlowe Hall Secondary Modern School and Milton Hall.^[5]

On 4 July 1990, the school was set alight by arsonists. Around a third of the school's teaching area was destroyed and an estimated £1 million of damage was caused. The damaged section of the school was rebuilt and reopened on 12 December 1992.^[4]

Woodham Community Technology College: 1999 to 2012

Woodham gained Technology College status in 1999 and was opened by Kate Adie.^[6][7]

In March 2008, Woodham Community Technology College (often written as Woodham CTC) announced the closure of its sixth form provision due to low applications but remained committed to current sixth form students.^[8]

The Woodham Warriors were the school's American flag football team from 2003 ^[9] to around 2014 and won many tournaments and accolades, including representing the UK in 2005 ^[10]

School rebuild

The school was scheduled for a complete rebuild but the government axed the Building Schools for the Future rebuilding programme in July, 2010 ^[11]

Woodham Academy: September 2012 to present

In March 2012, the school announced it would be submitting a request to turn the school into an academy. In July 2012, it opened its Sports Academy which aims to offer "high quality coaching opportunities to elite athletes in a range of sports"^[12] The school introduced a new uniform in September 2012 for the new Academy, which was updated in 2022 with new ties.

In July 2021 it was announced that Woodham was amongst 50 schools nationally to be considered for a major rebuild, partial rebuild or refurbishment under the School Rebuilding Programme with the Government's decision expected early 2022.^[13] Woodham Academy's new building officially opened to students on Monday 9th September 2024, marking the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year.

Facilities

The school has a range of facilities including ^[14]

• 9 science laboratories
• 2 music suites
• a technology complex with 6 specialist workshops
• a textiles studio
• a sports hall
• a gymnasium
• a drama studio
• a swimming pool
• multiple IT suites

Academic performance

Curriculum provision

Woodham offers a broad range of learning experiences that meet the needs of learners, engage them and maximise their opportunities to achieve well. Pupils learn about a variety of employment sectors and routes into further education. The range of external qualifications is suitably varied to support pupils’ aspirations ^[15]

The school offers a range of GCSE and vocational qualifications.^[16]

Progress 8 comparison with other local schools ^[17]

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Greenfield	-0.23 (below average)	-0.34 (below average)	-0.26 (below average)	-0.51 (well below average)	-	-
UTC South Durham	-	-	-1.05 (well below average)	-1.15 (well below average)	-	-
Woodham	-0.3 (below average)	+0.25 (above average)	+0.1 (average)	+0.1 (average)	-	-
Local Authority	-0.9	-0.23	-0.23	-0.2	-	-
Maintained School National Average	-0.01	-0.03	-0.23	+0.3	-	-

Results from 2020 and 2021 were not published due to exam disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic.

As UTC was a new school the first published results were 2018.

Ofsted report judgements ^[18]

• 2023 - Good
• 2018 - Good
• 2016 - Requires Improvement
• 2011 - Good
• 2009 - Satisfactory
• 2006 - Satisfactory

Head teachers

Head teachers of the school are:^b[4]

• John Pearson (OBE), 1970–1980
• Katherine Carr, 1980–1990
• Andrew Bennett, 1990–1994
• Steven Harness, 1994–2010
• Christine Forsyth, 2010–2019^[19]
• Andrew Bell, 2019–present^[20]

Notable alumni

• Kate Avery, long-distance runner
• Darren Craddock, footballer ^[21]
• Mark Gatiss, actor, comedian, screenwriter and novelist^[22]
• Paul Magrs, writer and lecturer^[23]
• Scott Mann, film director
• Chris Mason, footballer ^[21]
• Jason Steele, footballer^[24][25]
• Ross Turnbull, footballer^[24][25][26]
• Lewis Wing, footballer ^[21]
• Angela Winstanley-Smith, water polo player

Gallery

• 
  Fire damage in The Auckland Sector of the school
• 
  Before and after the fire

Notes

1. ^ Position name changed to "Principal" in 2010.^[19]