Burnage Academy for Boys


Burnage Academy for Boys, formerly known as Burnage High School for Boys, is a secondary school with academy status, located in Burnage, Manchester, England.

History

Grammar school

The school was founded in September 1932 as Burnage High School on its current site on Burnage Lane. At an ceremony on 21 October 1932, the school was officially opened by Sir Boyd Merriman and the school choir performed Edvard Grieg's "Song of Olav Trygvason". In the early years, the school was organised around the house system, sports teams were formed and a school magazine was printed. A number of school plays were staged, including Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure, Dr. Knock, Seven Keys to Baldpate and The Anatomist, nurturing young acting talent such as that of Alan Badel, who later went on to appear on stage, film and television.
Upon the outbreak of World War II in 1939, most pupils were evacuated to towns outside Manchester to avoid the hazards of bombing, and Burnage boys were sent to Leek, Ashbourne and Wirksworth. Many former pupils of the school served in the forces during the war and 50 old boys were killed in action, later commemorated in a memorial plaque in the school hall. Luftwaffe bombs were dropped on Burnage during the Manchester Blitz, and Burnage school was hit by three bombs, causing severe damage to the school hall and demolishing the organ. The school's first headmaster, Mr Albert H. R. Ball, left in 1942 to take up the position of Rector of the Royal High School in Edinburgh.
After the war, the hall was repaired, and several years later was the organ was replaced. Around 1950 the school was given Grammar School status with the traditional grammar school ethos and curriculum. In 1958, a four-storey concrete building was added at the rear of the old buildings. This building accommodated extra classrooms with the art rooms on the top floor. In the late-'50s to mid-'60s, the school was highly rated and competition for places was strong.

Comprehensive school

In 1967, Burnage Grammar School became a non-selective comprehensive, at a time when most grammar schools in Manchester were being disestablished following the abolition of the Tripartite System in British schools. It became Burnage High School for Boys and merged with Ladybarn Secondary Modern School, which was on nearby Briarfield Road/Parrs Wood Road, in Withington. The Briarfield/Parrs Wood Road site then became the lower school while the Burnage Lane site remained the upper school.
In 1969 the school purchased a disused railway station, in Derbyshire, and converted it for use as an outdoor education centre for pupils.
In 2000, the sixth form was disestablished and the lower and upper schools were amalgamated on the Burnage Lane site, which was expanded by a new buildings including a Sports Hall. The old school buildings on Briarfield/Parrs Wood Road were then demolished and the site has since become a new housing development.

Media Arts College

In 2007, the school was given Media Arts College status and was renamed as Burnage Media Arts College in 2008. Despite this change, it remained an all-boys school for 11–16-year-olds.
In 2010, the school was reconstructed under the Building Schools for the Future initiative which saw the original 1930s and 1950s buildings replaced by a new building. The 1999 building was refurbished and the Sports Hall was also improved with a new gymnasium. Upon completion of the new main building, the old buildings were demolished and the grounds they once stood on were resurfaced to provide all-weather sports facilities.

Academy

Previously a community school administered by Manchester City Council, Burnage Media Arts College converted to academy status on 1 April 2014 and was renamed Burnage Academy for Boys, however, the school continues to co-ordinate with Manchester City Council for admissions.

Coronavirus pandemic

Due to the 2020 coronavirus outbreak in the United Kingdom, the school, along with all of the schools in the UK, was shut in March 2020, leaving students into home learning and studying at home.

Headmasters

The school draws pupils from various districts of Manchester, including Didsbury, Levenshulme, Longsight, Rusholme, Fallowfield, Withington, Hulme, Ardwick, and Burnage itself. The majority of students live in Longsight, Levenshulme, Rusholme and Ardwick wards, which suffer from high levels of poverty, deprivation, and crime. As mentioned in its 2010 OFSTED report, over 90% of the school's students are from ethnic minorities, and over 64% are of South Asian heritage with more than 50% of all students speaking English as an additional language.

OFSTED Inspections

A full OFSTED school inspection was last carried out in October 2018, in which the school was given 'Outstanding' status in overall effectiveness.
The inspected areas included effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare and outcomes for pupils.

Academic performance

In the school's 2018 OFSTED report, it was noted that pupils make excellent progress and achieve consistently strong results in their GCSE examinations. In 2018, Burnage pupils gained 29 grade 9s and a further 46 grade 8s between them.
In accordance to progress 8 score the school has above average progress for boys.

Academic performance - historical data

In the school's 2002 OFSTED report, it was noted that overall examination grades for students at the school in recent years were well below the national average. The school has had consistently improving GCSE results since 2001. GCSE performance results as published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families since 2001 are as follows:
Percentage of students achieving 5 or more GCSE A* – C results or equivalent :
Percentage of students achieving 5 or more GCSE A* – C results including English and Maths :
Percentage of students achieving 4 and above in English and Maths :
In September 1986, the school made headline news when 13-year-old Asian pupil Ahmed Iqbal Ullah was fatally stabbed in the lower school playground by another 13-year-old pupil, Darren Coulburn, in what was believed to be a racially motivated attack. Coulburn, a juvenile delinquent who had already burned down the school art block in 1985 causing £50,000 of damage, was convicted of murder and detained indefinitely. The incident severely damaged the reputation of what was once a well-respected school in the district, and launched the MacDonald Inquiry into racism and violence in Manchester schools. The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre, established in 1999, was named in Ullah's memory.
In 2009, the school made headline news when teacher Mohammed Sarwar was arrested after police had obtained evidence that he had been leading a double life as the mastermind behind a major local drugs gang who had a large-scale operation to deal cocaine and cannabis. Sarwar, who was known as "The Teacher" to his gang, had taught IT at the school for seven years until his arrest. In April 2011, he was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison. After his arrest, staff at the school also found crib sheets that Sarwar had drawn up to help his pupils cheat at their exams.
Between 2009 and 2011, Salman Ramadan Abedi, the attacker of the Manchester Arena bombing, attended the school. While attending he was among a group of students who accused a teacher of Islamophobia for criticising suicide bombing.
In 2012, the school made headlines again when former supply teacher Mutasem Alqtaishat was arrested for fraud after he collected weekly payments from young players at a local basketball club that he coached at and deposited the payments into his personal account for his own use over a five-month period. Alqtaishat received a 13-week prison sentence, and was ordered to pay £400 and perform 180 hours of unpaid community service. In 2013, he was also struck off by the Teaching Agency for a minimum period of two years.

Notable former pupils

Burnage Academy for Boys