Queensbury Academy
| Motto | Achieving potential by learning together |
|---|---|
| Established | 2012 (1972) |
| Type | Academy |
| Principal | Mr Oliver Button |
| Location |
Langdale Road Dunstable Bedfordshire LU6 3BU England 51°52′42″N 0°31′42″W / 51.87822°N 0.52824°WCoordinates: 51°52′42″N 0°31′42″W / 51.87822°N 0.52824°W |
| DfE URN | 138571 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports Pre-academy reports |
| Students | 1,044 Ofsted report September 2017 |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Ages | 11–18 |
| Colours | Burgundy, grey |
| Website |
www |
Queensbury Academy is a mixed, 11–18 secondary school and sixth form in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. In September 2015, the academy was a fully enrolling secondary school for Years 7–13. The academy has 900 students on roll, including Sixth Form students.
The academy was rated as "Good" by Ofsted in its 2017 Ofsted Inspection. Queensbury is the only school with a Good Ofsted Rating in Dunstable and is set to be on its way to being Outstanding. The school had been rated as "Inadequate" when it was Queensbury Upper School. In the summer 2015, 56% of students got good grades in Mathematics and English examinations.
History
Kingsbury Technical School (a mixed-sex Technical school) and Queen Eleanor's Grammar School for Girls were merged in 1972 to form Queensbury Upper School, when Bedfordshire changed from a two-tier school system to a three-tier system.
Queensbury was the second Grant-maintained school. The school had been flagged for closure but the community, including the local Member of Parliament, David Madel, fought to keep it open and took advantage of the introduction of the grant-maintained system introduced in 1988. Grant-maintained schools were abolished in 1998, and Queensbury was converted to a Foundation School. During its ten years as a Grant-maintained school, it grew from having very low enrolment numbers (as the school was due to close) to being heavily oversubscribed.
The school was converted to an academy in September 2012, and was renamed Queensbury Academy. The academy had an OFSTED Inspection in September 2017, and was recognised as Good and well on its way to being Outstanding.
Principals
- Oliver Button (2012–present)
- Jill Coughlan CBE (2012), interim
- Nigel Hill (2003–2012)
- Lynn Morgan (2003), interim
- Bob Clayton (1994–2003)
- Keith Barker (1984–1994)
- Christina Scott (1972–1984)
Location
Queensbury is surrounded by three roads, Canesworde Road, Langdale Road and Hilton Avenue (Most of the roads located in this area are named after places in the Lake District). It is in South West Dunstable, but takes children from across Dunstable and the surrounding villages.
Senior staff
- Principal: O. Button
- Senior Vice Principals: M. Little and R. Mason
- Vice Principal: S. Roberts
- Head of Hawking House: B. Dumpleton
- Head of Sugar House: N. Brown
- Head of Ennis House: P. Thompson
- Head of Rowling House: D. Needham
- Head of English: M. Hart
- 2nd in department and in charge of literacy : G Capp
- Head of Mathematics: A. Bird
- Head of Science: S. Parker
- Head of Computer science (ICT): J Searle
- Head of Art: Z. McCabe and W. Higby
- Head of History: M. O'Rourke
- Head of Geography: T. Lysak
School site
Because the school used to be two separate schools, the buildings are quite a distant apart and there is some duplication in rooms across the school. There are, for instance, two gyms, main halls and canteens. There are two entrances from different sides of the site, although the main entrance leading to reception in the Central building is on Langdale Road.
Until the completion of Central building, where there is one purpose built staff room, there were also two staff rooms – one per building.
On Langdale Road, there is a staff entrance to East building (the former Queen Eleanor's), and a main entrance to Central building. Opposite Meadway there is an entrance to West building (via Canesworde Road). 'Central' building was added in 1999. The buildings have been updated to include IT suites in all buildings and new signage. Further recent improvements include new windows, a cafeteria area, an environmental centre and a covered outside picnic area for students. The academy also has a fitness suite for students and staff to use.
Houses
Queensbury uses a vertical 'house' system to encourage teamwork and competition within the school, with awards and points being given to houses for various events. Each tutor group is assigned to a house. The houses are based in the two main buildings with Ennis and Rowling in the 'East' and Hawking and Sugar in the 'West'. Until 2013, the houses were named (with colours): Mead (green), Canesworde (yellow), Langdale (blue) and Hilton (red), after the four roads that surround the school site. The houses compete against each other during an annual Sports Day and occasional afternoon events; these give "Q Points" depending on a house's finishing position which are used to give a film afternoon reward to the students.
All students are required to wear correct uniform. The ties, although the same design and basic colours have a stripe in a colour representing their house. The houses and colours are shown below. Each house is based on an influential person:
| House | Influential Person |
|---|---|
| Hawking | Stephen Hawking |
| Rowling | JK Rowling |
| Ennis | Jessica Ennis |
| Sugar | Sir Alan Sugar |
Ofsted
The academy was rated as Good by Ofsted in its 2017 Inspection. The previous school, Queensbury Upper School, was rated as Inadequate. The academy has a grade 2 in all areas of the inspection
Teaching GOOD
Sixth Form GOOD
Leadership GOOD
Attainment of students GOOD
Behaviour of Students GOOD