Djanogly City Academy

Djanogly City Academy opened in August 2003 as one of the first of a new type of specialist, state-funded independent schools. The Academy replaced the oversubscribed City Technology College (CTC) and the former Forest Comprehensive School.

This was the first instance of a CTC being re-designated as an Academy and, as such, was a groundbreaking project that exemplified government policy. The success of this endeavour has only been possible through the commitment and collaborative working of a number of key stakeholders, including Nottingham City Council, the Department for Education and Skills, our sponsors, not to mention the students, staff, governors and parents/carers. The original City Technology College was one of only 15 CTCs in the UK. It was the first to be purpose-built in 1988, and began operating in 1989. This site is located at Sherwood Rise and accommodates students in Year 10 & 11 and Post 16 students.

The former Forest Comprehensive School was replace by a purpose built 11-14 Centre and is home to students in Years 7, 8 & 9. A community-use swimming pool and leisure facility is due to open at this site in April 2010.

Our facilities include:

·         Superb ICT equipment with a ratio of 1:1 computers for students;

·         300 seat Theatre and dance studios;

·         Music recording studios and rehearsal rooms;

·         Swimming pool and fitness suite for use by students and the local

·         community;

·         Multi-Activity Pitch located at the Forest Recreation ground;

·         Outdoor sports facilities based at Haydn Road;

·         Three libraries split over two sites;

·         A dedicated Post 16 Centre for students aged 16-19;

·         Purpose built BETA (Business, Enterprise, Technology and Applications)

·         Centre for IT Diploma students;

·         Hair and Beauty salons providing training for students aged 14-19.

Since 2002 we have allocated state-of-the-art Toshiba laptop/tablet computers to all staff allowing them more flexibility to work across two sites. In fact, as an Investor In People, we pride ourselves on the professional development of staff and we allocate a large budget to this every year. For new staff, there is also a carefully structured induction programme. We currently have more than 140 teaching staff and over 150 support staff, who do an excellent job of relieving our teachers of administrative and clerical burdens, as well as providing in-class and technical support. Staff numbers will continue to increase in the coming years as we work towards the Academy’s projected number on roll of over 1800. The Academy’s specialism is Information and Communication Technology (ICT), for which it has won no fewer than three national awards from the government agency Becta. It is also one of only five schools in the country to be recognized by the Chinese Government for its excellence in teaching Mandarin and

supporting the training of teachers of the Chinese language. With two sites in the city, Djanogly is a student-centred learning organisation, which provides a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. We were praised for our curriculum by Ofsted in 2009, who said, “This school provides an innovative curriculum that meets students’ needs well. In order to raise the standard of students’ basic skills, the school has revisited the formal curriculum in Years 7, 8 and 9. The introduction of ‘Rich Tasks’ is effectively strengthening crosscurricular links in literacy and numeracy and is providing more opportunities for students to develop and apply other skills, such as their use of ICT.”

We are leading the way in respect of transforming national 14-19 curriculum provision, with Djanogly students having access to all of the diploma courses in Construction, Motor Vehicles Trades, Pottery, Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy.

The Academy achieved its best ever results for GCSEs in 2009. Out of 264 student who sat exams 70% achieved 5+ A*- C grades, which is a 23% increase on the results in 2008. The percentage of students achieving 5+ A* - C including Maths and English has also increased from 33% in 2008 to 39% in 2009. A level students also achieved an amazing 97% pass rate in 2009.

The Academy’s aims are to:

·         Raise young people’s aspirations and improve their life chances;

·         Continually increase student attainment and achievement;

·         Provide a modern, safe and secure learning environment;

·         Enhance learning through state-of-the-art technology;

·         Employ and develop talented professional who design and deliver

·         outstanding learning experiences for young people;

·         Support the Every Child Matters agenda for young people