Barclay Academy in Stevenage is an ambitious, thriving school that is committed to ensuring every pupil achieves their full potential. Its guiding principle is ‘Freedom Through Education’, and to promote students’ academic and future success the academy offers a knowledge-rich curriculum underpinned by strong pastoral care.
Barclay Academy Values
The academy is a mixed, non-selective secondary school and sixth form, and it is part of the Future Academies multi-academy trust. Future Academies was founded by Lord John Nash and is dedicated to supporting less advantaged children and young people. Barclay Academy provides a stimulating, rich curriculum and diverse extracurricular and cultural opportunities. It engages with the best universities and teachers, along with the most prominent employers in the UK, to help ensure all its pupils are equipped with the knowledge and skills to excel in whatever career or path they choose to follow.
Exceptional Determination and Resilience
Barclay Academy’s students have demonstrated remarkable determination and resilience to achieve exceptional results. The school’s Progress 8 score saw an increase from -0.43 in 2019 to +0.41 in 2022, which placed the academy in the top 5%, by progress, of all schools in England and made it the most improved school in the county. In 2023, Ofsted ranked Barclay Academy as Outstanding in the categories of Personal Development and Leadership and Management and Good in Overall Effectiveness, Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, and Sixth Form Provision.
Education Enrichment at Barclay Academy
The academy is proud of the wide range of clubs and societies it offers, which run before school, after school and during lunchtime. Sports offered include netball, hockey, football, gymnastics, table tennis, volleyball, cheerleading, cricket, basketball and rounders. Pupils can participate purely for fun or have opportunities to compete against other schools at both county and district events.
When it comes to the arts, pupils can learn to play an instrument through the academy’s instrumental lesson programme, which includes small-group teaching and one-to-one sessions. Students interested in drama can take part in a range of dance and drama activities outside of curriculum lessons, while the academy’s art department provides a variety of after-school enrichment opportunities for its talented artists.
Trips are organised throughout all departments and year groups to bring learning to life. These include visits to art galleries, places of historical interest, museums, and UK and international residentials to destinations such as Spain, Berlin, Belgium, Iceland and Poland. Students are also regularly offered the chance to take part in professional theatre workshops and watch live theatre performances.