Academy Information

At Barnes Wallis Academy we aim to provide each and every one of our students with the guidance and support they need to excel.

Our Mission

Barnes Wallis Academy is a place of learning and excellence where students come first and where everyone is cared for and valued.

The Academy aims to excite learners’ imaginations, broaden horizons, increase aspirations and life chances by providing a world-class education leading to academic excellence.  We embrace the value of enrichment and extra-curricular activities and aim to produce resilient, confident, healthy young people with transferrable life skills which give them the ability and desire to determine their own future and make the world a better place.

Through a high quality, skills-based education we produce adaptable, independent, employable learners, confident at solving problems and taking responsibility for themselves as citizens in the 21st century.

Our Aims

The staff and the Academy Scrutiny Committee of Barnes Wallis Academy aim to provide a secure, supportive and challenging learning environment that will offer appropriate opportunities for achievement and development for all learners.

Learning is personalised to extend learners’ strengths, identify and support weaknesses and develop skills and strategies to address needs. We work to ensure that all learners feel comfortable, safe and secure no matter what their race, gender, religion or ability.

We aim to provide an environment that will strive to improve the health of our students and Academy personnel, families and community members. We implement policies and practices that respect an individual’s well-being and dignity, provide opportunities for success and acknowledge good efforts as well as personal achievement.

We also aim to support the development of the locality in accordance with the local area developments identified by the town council. We work with local community leaders to positively promote the local area and develop the resources available to the residents. We aim to provide support for parents to access resources and will develop links with health orientated and other agencies to support a sustainable lifestyle for the students and families of Barnes Wallis Academy. We positively promote community and global cohesion.

In order to achieve our aims, we strive to:

• Educate students so that they have the opportunity to reach their potential
• Develop students' self-respect and respect for others
• Provide equality of opportunity, counteracting ignorance, prejudice and discrimination
• Ensure students have the level of literacy required to enable them to successfully access the curriculum and fully take advantage of the knowledge it equips them with
• Provide a broad, knowledge rich curriculum, enabling all students to develop personal aptitudes and interests
• Foster a partnership between home, students and Academy which we believe to be essential for success
• Provide support and guidance to maintain the physical and emotional well-being of all students
• Make education challenging, fulfilling and enjoyable and encourage students to be independent and take an increased responsibility for their own learning
• Implement a high-quality staff development programme for all staff which gives the opportunity for professional and career development.

Ethos, Vision and Values

The staff and Academy Scrutiny Committee of Barnes Wallis Academy aim to provide a secure, supportive and challenging learning environment that will offer appropriate opportunities for achievement and development for all learners enabling them to excel.

We aim to provide a world class education in a safe, happy caring and focused environment. 

Students' positive interaction with our academic and opportunity-enriched curriculum and their approach to their studies to secure continual improvement, developing strong numeracy and literacy skills, enables them to talk about their learning and communicate effectively. We encourage students to aspire and remove barriers to learning so nothing holds them back.  Students show respect for themselves, others and for the environment, always leading by example. 

Through the promotion of our values and the ethos of the house system, we encourage the students to feel a sense of belonging. We help them develop a strong cultural awareness becoming citizens who make positive contributions to our 21st century society. We believe all students can succeed given appropriate self-belief, challenge and support. We believe that students should be nurtured to achieve their full potential, opening up opportunities for them now and in the future, but we also encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning and personal development ensuring they become lifelong learners who determine their own futures.

We demand high standards from our students and we equip them with life skills to support them on their learning journey. They feel valued and understand they can positively shape their life through choice not chance. 

We aim to make a difference through education, and care for students' well-being, by providing opportunities and support to achieve and preventing our students from becoming vulnerable to disadvantage.

Learning is intended to extend learners’ strengths, identify and support weaknesses and develop skills and strategies to address needs. We work to ensure that all learners feel comfortable, safe and secure no matter what their race, gender, religion or ability.

In line with our ambitious, knowledge rich curriculum, the majority of our students study the EBACC as part of their key stage 4 curriculum.  The EBACC consists of GCSEs in English, Mathematics, History or Geography, Science and a Modern Foreign Language.

Our priority is simple; to provide a world class education for all.

The David Ross Education Trust

• The hallmarks of the Academy are in line with those of the Trust, which are:
• A house structure to foster a culture of mutual respect and teamwork, where students will develop a sense of ownership, responsibility and pride in their Academy and their community
• An extensive co-curricular offer to broaden opportunity and experience for all students within their Academy and across the network and to encourage all students to pursue and excel in an area they are passionate about
• A relentless focus on literacy both written and oral so that all students can access a broad curriculum offer
• Similarly a relentless focus on numeracy so that all students can access a broad curriculum offer
• A uniform code to nurture a sense of identity and responsibility
• A Governing Body and a Principal who exercise their local autonomy effectively in support of the Trust’s aims and to achieve the agreed targets
• A commitment from all staff to delivering excellence and a culture of no excuses - so that every child can achieve.