Principal’s Welcome
I am delighted to welcome you to Whitburn Church of England Academy, where it is my very great privilege and honour to be Principal. I feel very proud to be given the opportunity to lead such an outstanding school. “Excellence for all” reflects our school ethos and at Whitburn we believe that every one of us in our community is unique and of value. Each of us has a contribution to make to our community as we work together for the flourishing of all. Christians believe that God gives each of us ‘a hope and a future’ (Jeremiah 29:11).
We are determined to provide an inclusive education for the local community in which the rights of all are respected, irrespective of personal beliefs. We believe that each student should be recognised as being unique, gifted, created and loved by God. We are proud to be a school at the heart of the Whitburn community and its surrounding villages.
Our students enjoy fantastic facilities, supporting our high aspirations for them. The academy has a strong academic tradition and students achieve very well in their GCSEs, where our results are consistently amongst the highest performing North East state schools. Our A level results demonstrate that we can also produce fantastic results with our Sixth Form students, with an increasing number of students gaining places at Oxford and Cambridge.
In January 2025, we had our most recent OFSTED inspection under the new OFSTED framework. The report confirmed that our previously inspected standards are still being maintained and “the overall effectiveness of the school is Good”, with Personal development being rated as Outstanding. This means that we have continued to maintain and also improve upon the previous “Good” rated OFSTED inspection in November 2019.
OFSTED commented on how our, “Pupils enjoy coming to school. They make the most of their time in lessons and take advantage of the rich extra-curricular life of the school. The school is ambitious for pupils and encourages them to have high aspirations.” The inspectors also noted that, “The positive ethos and culture of the school shine through in the character of the pupils and the values they demonstrate. Pupils are friendly, welcoming and confident. They show tolerance and respect for others. Pupils behave well. Lessons are calm and pupils conduct themselves well at social times, for example in the dining room and when moving around corridors.”
We are very proud of our results, accolades and inspection judgments but we achieve success by working tirelessly to ensure that we get the best out of all of our students. We are a forward-thinking school and I am delighted that we continue to offer Mandarin to study as a foreign language as we now enter our seventh year of delivering this course at both GCSE and Advanced level. We strive to make our motto of “Excellence for All” a reality. Exam results are only ever part of the picture in regard to the outstanding education we wish for all our students. We take great pride in the rich and diverse extra-curricular life on offer, with a wide range of sporting, musical and other activities.
Our curriculum offer is robust, challenging and is fitting for the skills and knowledge required for the modern world. Pupils study a broad range of subjects at key stage 3. The key stage 4 curriculum is equally ambitious. Pupil’s study separate sciences, history, geography and modern foreign languages. Pupils achieve well in the English Baccalaureate subjects, such as science, modern foreign languages and the humanities. Additional options, such as sociology and Mandarin, further enrich the curriculum.
We celebrate the success of our students in all aspects of school life and it matters just as much to us that our ‘graduates’ are confident, articulate and thoughtful, as well as achieving academic success. As a Church of England School we support the development of moral values and of a rich and fulfilling spiritual life for the entire academy community. We are respectful of the hopes of others and we encourage one another to aspire to be the best that we can be, today and in the future. We look to develop key Christian values such as kindness, fairness, respect, helpfulness and being a learner. However, we are a fully inclusive school and we do not have faith criteria within our admission policy, welcoming students of other faiths and no faith.
Inspired by the words of Oscar Romero, we ‘aspire not to have more but to be more’. Together, as we develop our unique gifts and talents, we grow into the people we were created to be. We learn from one another and work together to play our part in building a flourishing community. We aspire to have the courage to make a difference, and carry hope to the wider world.
Partnership work with parents and carers is a strength of the academy and something we value highly. Links with the local community are well developed and there is a strong parental representation on the Governing Body.
We take a very professional approach to all aspects of our work and there is no complacency; we don’t always get it right first time but we learn from our mistakes. Our focus is always on teaching and learning; lessons provide all students with challenge, support, rigour and pace in proper measure. OFSTED commented that, “Lessons proceed smoothly and uninterrupted. Behaviour around the school site is calm and orderly. Pupils get along well and enjoy positive relationships with their teachers.” We recognise that there are no shortcuts to quality in education; the We recognise that there are no shortcuts to quality in education; the way to success lies in high expectations, thorough planning, regular monitoring and review and sheer hard work. Our continued success is a well-deserved testimony to the dedication and efforts of our students, staff, parents, carers and governors.
John Crowe
Principal
