The Laurel Academy Explained

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]

History

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]

Notable former pupils

Mexborough Grammar School

Former teachers

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Welcome to Mexborough Academy. mexborough.doncaster.sch.uk. 15 August 2015.
  2. Book: Ely . Steve . Ted Hughes's South Yorkshire: Made in Mexborough . 2015 . London . 978-1-137-49935-6 . 110.
  3. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/0a492bfed42247ec898f538e3c34f747 BBC Genome
  4. http://www.mexboroughheritage.com/MGS01.htm Mexborough & District Heritage Society
  5. Web site: Academy partnerships. mexborough.doncaster.sch.uk. 15 August 2015.
  6. News: Failing academy trust to pull out of 21 schools . Press Association. The Guardian . 9 September 2017 . 9 September 2017.
  7. News: Staufenberg . Jess . WCAT school left without sponsor over £1 million-a-year PFI contract . 23 February 2019 . Schools Week . 9 March 2018.
  8. News: Robertson . Alix . Mexborough school finally set to transfer to Delta in November . 23 February 2019 . Schools Week . 22 September 2018.
  9. News: Kessen . David . Doncaster school renamed for new era under new trust . 23 February 2019 . Doncaster Free Press . 4 December 2018 . en.