| The Laurel Academy | |
| Type: | Academy |
| Trust: | Delta Academies Trust |
| Head Label: | Headteacher |
| Head: | Katy Taylor-Clarke |
| Address: | Maple Road |
| Location: | Mexborough |
| Postcode: | S64 9SD |
| County: | South Yorkshire |
| Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 53.5027°N -1.2964°W |
| Local Authority: | Doncaster |
| Dfeno: | 371/4012 |
| Urn: | 146639 |
| Ofsted: | Yes |
| Gender: | Coeducational |
| Lower Age: | 11 |
| Upper Age: | 16 |
| Website: | https://www.laurelacademy.org.uk/ |
The Laurel Academy (formerly Mexborough Academy) is a coeducational secondary school located in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, England.[1]
The school was founded in October 1904 as Mexborough and District Secondary School. It became Mexborough Grammar School in 1931.[2]
On 7 March 1968 members of the school's sixth form took part in a 25-minute-long television programme, part of a competitive series entitled Sixth Sense, which was broadcast on BBC One at 18.40. The students investigated and aired their views on the topics of anti-German prejudice, vivisection, and Christmas cards, and their contributions were judged by Sir Jack Longland, Sir Christopher Chataway and Mary Holland.[3] Ten years earlier, a team from Mexborough Grammar had taken part in the Granada Television youth discussion programme We Want an Answer.[4]
Mexborough Grammar School merged with Mexborough County Secondary School, a secondary modern school, in 1975 and became a comprehensive school. It was known as Mexborough School, and for a period in the early 2000s as Mexborough School Specialist Science College.
Previously a community school administered by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Mexborough School converted to academy status in January 2015 and was renamed Mexborough Academy. It continues to coordinate with Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council for admissions. The school was sponsored by the Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT).[5] In 2016, the school introduced a new logo, which dropped the long-standing Latin motto of Abeunt Studia in Mores (Studies Pass on into Character). Low numbers led to the school's sixth form closing in summer 2017, though it legally remains an 11–18 institution.
WCAT announced its intention to disband and give up all its schools, including Mexborough Academy, in September 2017.[6] After a lengthy delay due to the school's Private Finance Initiative contract,[7] the school was transferred to Delta Academies Trust on 1 November 2018.[8] On 1 December 2018, Delta renamed the school The Laurel Academy.[9]