Top Valley Academy

Park Vale Academy (formerly Top Valley School) is a mixed secondary school located in the Top Valley area of Nottingham in the English county of Nottinghamshire.[3]

Park Vale Academy
Address
Top Valley Drive Top Valley Nottingham , Nottinghamshire , NG8 4HY England
Coordinates	53.0088°N 1.1772°W / 53.0088; -1.1772
Information
Type	Academy
Trust	Redhill Academy Trust UID= 4338 [1]
Department for Education URN	144487 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Steve Bowhay
Gender	Mixed
Age	11 to 16
Enrolment	793 as of March 2020[2]
Capacity	950
Website	www.parkvaleacademy.org.uk
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History and governance

Previously a community school administered by Nottingham City Council, Top Valley School converted to academy status on 1 September 2012 and was renamed Top Valley Academy. The school is sponsored by Central College Nottingham;[4] It continued to coordinate with Nottingham City Council for admissions.[5][6]

The school benefitted from an £18m rebuild in 2017.[7]

Pastoral

The school runs vertical tutor groups, overseen by a head of house, a senior position.There are 18 tutor groups. This means that in each tutor group there will be about 8 students from each year group. The houses are named after local monuments Clumber, Newstead, Rufford, Wollaton.[8]

Academics

This is an 11 to 16 academy with no sixth form. At the end of Key Stage 4, year 11 students automatically transfer the Redhill Sixth Form Academy.[5]

Key Stage 3

All students study: Mathematics, English, Science, Spanish, Geography, History, Computing, Design & Technology, Food Technology, Art, Drama, Music, Physical Education, PSHE, and Religious Education In Year 8 some students also study French.[5]

Key Stage 4

This is started in year 9. All students must study English, English Literature, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education which is not examined), PSHE, Religious Education, and at least one otherl EBacc subject. The choose one options from a list of GCSE and BTEC courses- triple sciences, French and Spanish are all available as is an examined PE course.[5]

Ofsted

In May and June 2019 Ofsted inspectors called and found, like its predecessor the management and leadership of the school was inadequate. They found they were tardy in addressing weaknesses and failed to evaluate any improvement scheme they introduced. They found that special needs teaching was weak as was mathematics and felt that work was pitched at too lower level of difficulty, as some teachers had low expectations of pupils. In all other areas strategies were found to be ineffective. The governors did not hold leaders to account for low standards as they lacked the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out their delegated duties.[9]

A monitoring visit was made in February 2020, where inspectors found the leaders and managers are taking effective actions facilitating the removal of the serious weaknesses designation. They found both the schools and the trusts improvement plans are fit for purpose.[10]

References

1. "REDHILL ACADEMY TRUST - GOV.UK". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
2. "Park Vale Academy - GOV.UK". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
3. "Park Vale Academy Nottingham". parkvaleacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
4. "About". Top Valley Academy. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
5. "Park Vale Prospectus 2019" (PDF). www.parkvaleacademy.org.uk. Redhill Academy Trust. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
6. Nottinghamshire County Council. "School catchment areas". Nottinghamshire County Council. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
7. "New £18m school to replace Top Valley Academy in September – Edexec.co.uk". Retrieved 9 March 2020.
8. "House System". www.parkvaleacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
9. "Ofsted Report 2019". ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
10. "Ofsted Report 2020". ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.

External links

• School website