Woodham Academy


Woodham Academy is an 11–16 mixed secondary school with academy status in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, England. It was formerly a foundation school that was established in 1970 and adopted its present name after becoming an academy in 2012. It is part of the Eden Learning Trust.

History

Woodham Community Technology College – 1970 to 2012

Woodham Community Technology College was a foundation school that opened as Woodham Comprehensive School on 29 June 1970 by Alice Bacon, Baroness Bacon, a former Labour MP. It was built under the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme.
There was a third secondary school in Newton Aycliffe called "The Avenue Comprehensive" - which was demolished in 1992, itself merged from two former secondary schools; Marlowe Hall Secondary Modern School and Milton Hall. It was amalgamated with Woodham.
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.
It gained Technology College status in 1999. In March 2008, it cancelled its sixth form provision due to low applications and remained committed to current sixth form students.

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" The school introduced a new uniform in September 2012 for the new Academy.

Facilities

The school has a range of facilities including nine science laboratories, two music suites, technology complex with 6 specialist workshops, textiles studio, sports hall, gymnasium, drama studio, swimming pool and ICT suites.

Notable alumni

Head teachers of the school are: