Acle Academy

About Us

Acle Academy is a thriving secondary school for 11-16 year olds, located in the heart of the Norfolk Broads and serving 500 children and their families. We strive to create well-rounded, responsible individuals who seize opportunities, discover their passions and love to learn throughout life. Acle Academy has a strong academic reputation.   

At Acle, we are driven by a strong moral imperative that rests on social equity. We believe passionately that every child has the right to a high quality education, regardless of background, and that it is our duty as educationalists to ensure that our students are equipped with the knowledge, skills and self-assurance to fulfil their aspirations in an increasingly competitive environment. 

At Acle Academy we are dedicated to creating a culture which helps prepare students not just for exam results but for life long learning. To thrive in the 21st century, it is not enough to leave school with a clutch of examination certificates. Students need to have learnt how to be tenacious and resourceful, imaginative and logical, self-disciplined and self-aware, collaborative and inquisitive. We believe that the core purpose of education is to prepare young people for life after school; helping them to build up the mental, emotional, social and strategic resources to enjoy challenge and cope well with uncertainty and complexity. We also believe that confidence, capability and passion can be developed in all students irrespective of their starting points.  Real world intelligence is not something we are born with, we can all develop the skills needed to succeed with the right mind set. 

Whether you are visiting our website as an existing parent, a prospective parent, student or visitor - we hope that it has provided you with the information needed to support student progress and to give you an insight into the life of our wonderful school. 

 


 

Our Values: Respect, Aspiration and Determination

At Acle Academy we respect the power of learning to unlock our future potential. We respect education, our learning environment and each other. We have high aspirations and we understand that we have to be brave, open minded and resilient in order to achieve them. We are determined to do our best - we focus, we reflect and we persevere. We value and nurture confidence, independence and high quality communication and social skills. Acle students leave our Academy ready to take on the world. 

British Values

Acle Academy is dedicated to preparing students for their adult life beyond the formal examined curriculum, serving the whole community and ensuring that we promote and reinforce British values to all our students. We follow equal opportunities guidance which guarantees that there will be no discrimination against any individual or group, regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, political or financial status, or similar.

Please click on the items below to read about some of the ways Acle Academy seeks to embed British values through strategies within the national curriculum and beyond.

Democracy 

The principle of democracy is consistently being reinforced at Acle Academy, with democratic processes being used for important decisions within the school community.  For instance, elections are part of the process for selecting representatives for the Student Council and House Captains.  The principle of democracy is also explored in subjects such as History and Life Skills as well as in tutor time and assemblies.  

During our Kindness Week students were able to nominate others for kindness shown.

Students take part in a consultation process when changes need to be made, such as to uniform or to the new school values, prior to implementation.  When appointing new posts to the school, students are always involved in a student panel and we regularly seeks students’ views on their provision through student panels and questionnaires. Students can post their thoughts on school activities and processes through the student suggestion box. 

The rule of law

The importance of laws, whether they be those that govern the class, the academy or the country are consistently reinforced at Acle Academy. 

Students are taught Acle Academy’s rules and expectations, which are highlighted by the Code of Conduct.  Students are taught the value and the reasons behind rules that govern and protect us, the responsibilities that this involves and the consequences when laws are broken – both inside and outside of the academy.  Visits from authorities such as the police reinforce this message.

Individual liberty

Staff at Acle Academy provide an empowering education and positive boundaries for students whilst actively encourage them to make individual and informed choices in a safe environment.

Students are encouraged to know and understand their rights and personal freedoms and are advised on how to exercise these safely.  This is delivered through assemblies, Life Skills lessons and during tutor time.  Acle Academy has a robust anti-bullying culture as result of a high-level pastoral support through our Engage Centre and a clear and comprehensive Behaviour Policy

Mutual respect

Respect is an integral part of Acle Academy and is part of its aims and values.  Students learn that their behaviour has an effect on their own rights and those of others.  All members of the academy community treat each other with respect and this is reiterated through its teaching and learning environments.  Mutual respect is embraced throughout the curriculum by providing the opportunity for students to express their views in a safe environment.  Students are encouraged to express considered opinions with enthusiasm and respect for others.

Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

This is achieved through equipping students with the ability to understand their place in a culturally diverse society and by creating opportunities to experience diversity within the school community.  The RE curriculum provides a broad and balanced education on a range of faiths, religions and cultures.  The syllabus helps students to have a broader understanding of spiritual, moral and sociological issues and encourages them to think about their own spiritual development. 

Acle Academy strives endlessly to ensure that its students leave with the strongest foundation of values upon which to build a successful life and a successful contribution to our society.

In all phases a variety of religious beliefs are not only tolerated but embraced by staff and students.

 

Our Aims

We are driven by a strong moral imperative that rests on social equality. We believe passionately that every child has the right to a high quality education, regardless of background, and that it is our duty as educationalists to ensure that our students are equipped with the knowledge, skills and self-assurance to fulfil their aspirations in an increasingly competitive environment.

 


 

Our Trust

Acle Academy officially became part of The Wensum Trust on 1 October 2016.

As part of The Wensum Trust, our school benefits from a wealth of opportunities to help achieve the Trust-wide ethos of developing happy and engaged children at all stages of the educational journey.

The Wensum Trust has schools situated within three geographical hubs across Norfolk, providing seamless transitions from early years through to sixteen plus. The City hub has schools in and around Norwich, the Rural hub includes schools in and around Acle and the Coastal hub comprises schools on the North Norfolk coast.

All three hubs work closely together to provide a rich and diverse range of experiences for children within all Trust schools. Community partnerships, often unique to The Wensum Trust, are developed locally with organisations such as the Norwich City Community Sports Foundation, North Walsham Rugby Club and Wells Sea Cadets, and made accessible across all three hubs. This creates an educational approach which is far broader and deeper than just the academic national curriculum and builds opportunities for all children to discover where they excel and to develop into confident, healthy and fulfilled members of society.  

For more information on The Wensum Trust, please visit their website using the link below.