Oxford Academy, Oxfordshire


The Oxford Academy is a co-educational state secondary school in Littlemore, Oxford, England. Formerly Peers School, it was re-opened as an Academy in September 2008 and is the state secondary school for The Leys, Rose Hill and Littlemore. It has specialist status in mathematics, computing, and sport.

History

Grammar school

The school's origins begin with Littlemore Grammar School.

Comprehensive

In 1968 Littlemore Grammar School merged with Northfield Secondary Modern School to form Oxford's first comprehensive school - the Peers School.

The Academy

The Oxford Academy opened in September 2008 on the site of Peers School, which had been designated a failing school. It initially used the existing buildings from the former school. In March 2009 the construction of a new, purpose-built £33 million school building was approved by Oxfordshire County Council. The new building was opened to pupils in February 2011. The Academy was placed in special measures in January 2013, following an Ofsted inspection in November 2012. David Brown was appointed headmaster as a result of the inspection. In January 2015 the school's rating was improved and it was taken out of special measures. However following a subsequent inspection in 2019 the Academy was rated "inadequate" and returned to special measures.
The Academy's sponsors are Beecroft Trust, the Diocese of Oxford, and Oxford Brookes University. It has 1,267 students, including a sixth form. Class sizes are smaller than average in the state sector, with between 20 and 25 students in a class rather than between 25 and 30. After being returned to special measures in 2020 an interim academy board and intermin headteacher, David Terry, were appointed to oversee planned changes. In March 2020 Nora Ward was appointed as the new permanent headteacher from September 2020.

Notable former pupils

Littlemore Grammar School