We are pleased to announce that at a special Oldham Council Cabinet meeting, the formal transfer for the land for our new school building has been enacted. This means that work on constructing our innovative new home will start imminently.

As a reminder, our new school will be situated on an easily accessible, town centre site on Booth Street, formally occupied by a Sainsburys supermarket (now demolished). In its place will rise a unique, high quality, light, airy and well-designed building, rich with colour, that will inspire the whole school community and lift aspirations.

It is our ambition that the building will include an original and unique stained-glass window, designed and produced by our patron Brian Clarke. This will celebrate our vision and values, shining light into our pupils’ learning and out into the community.

And you can find out all about The Brian Clarke CofE Academy at our first face to face open evening on Thursday 16th September. Click here to book your place.

We are pleased to announce that the Department for Education is applying for planning permission to site new, temporary accommodation on the site of The Blue Coat School to ensure The Brian Clarke CE Academy will open on schedule for Year 7 in September 2022. A move to our permanent home will then take place in the spring of 2023.

The accommodation will include all the necessary classrooms, science laboratories and IT infrastructure that will be required for the short stay on the Egerton Road site. The modular construction will be comprised of brand new, purpose-built units, often used by schools as a permanent solution but in this case will only be on site and in use for a short period of time.

The headteacher designate of The Brian Clarke CE Academy Alison Ash said:

“As a current Deputy Head at The Blue Coat School, it will be a real “home away from home” for me when we open here in September 2022! We have taken the upmost care in the planning of the temporary site to ensure that Brian Clarke CE Academy students get a brilliant start to their school lives.”

Julie Hollis, CEO of the Cranmer Education Trust, to which both The Blue Coat School and The Brian Clarke CE Academy belong, said;

“The Brian Clarke CE Academy will get the best possible start at The Blue Coat School site. The two schools will be separate entities, each with their own staff and facilities with students sharing just the restaurant at Blue Coat, with staggered dining times. We know that the parents, students and staff at Blue Coat will warmly welcome their new Cranmer Education Trust neighbours!”

The temporary solution is required due to delays in the original new school approval process brought about by the Covid19 pandemic and has the full support of Oldham Council leadership, ensuring that the borough has the much needed 240 new school places on time.

Prospective students and parents can join Mrs Ash on a virtual open event at 6.30pm on 15^th July – just click here to find out how to book your place!

The Cranmer Education Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of the headteacher for our new school, The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy.

Allison Ash, who is an “Oldhamer” by birth and has lived in the borough all her working life, was most recently Deputy Headteacher at the Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ Blue Coat School in Oldham, also a Cranmer Education Trust school. She has two children, attends worship at her local church and also enjoys taking part in athletics.

Allison said of her appointment; “I am absolutely honoured to be appointed as the first Headteacher of The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy. Having worked within the Cranmer Education Trust for 17 years I am extremely proud and privileged to have played a part in transforming the life chances of the young people and communities served and I am committed to building on these strong foundations to ensure The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy benefits from this legacy.

I am also committed to ensuring our school vision of luceat lux vestra – let your light shine (Matthew 5:16) – we celebrate the light within us all and the light we are all drawn to – the light which enables us to grow, thrive and understand – is at the fore of what we do.

I look forward meeting as many of our community as I can and helping them learn more about The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy.”

Julie Hollis, CEO of the Cranmer Education Trust commented on Allison’s appointment by saying; “It was a really competitive selection process but Allison shone through and is without doubt the best person to bring our Trust’s vision for this school to life. She will bring the excellence and outstanding leadership she has shown at Blue Coat to Brian Clarke, and will help create a school that is aspirational, multi-cultural, multi-faith and multi-talented – a school community that is a true microcosm of the Borough as a whole”.

We will be unveiling our programme of open events shortly where prospective students and their parents can meet Mrs Ash and find out more about her vision for the school.

We are pleased to reveal both the proposed site and the exciting designs and plans for the home of the new Brian Clarke Church of England Academy, part of the Cranmer Education Trust (CET). The CET also includes the Blue Coat School in Oldham as well as St Georges and Mayfield Primary Schools, also in Oldham, and St Anne’s CE Academy in Middleton.

Our new school will be situated on an easily accessible, town centre site on Booth Street, formally occupied by a Sainsburys supermarket (now demolished).

In its place will rise a unique, high quality, light, airy and well-designed building, rich with colour, that inspire the whole school community and lift aspirations.

It is our ambition that the building will include an original and unique stained-glass window, designed and produced by our patron Brian Clarke. This will celebrate our vision and values, shining light into learning and out into the community.

By providing an additional 240 places per year from September 2022, we will provide parents with a new and different choice of a school in a high-achieving trust which has served the town for over 180 years. The school will be easily accessible for young people over a wide geographic area utilising the current public transport network.

Cranmer Education Trust CEO Julie Hollis said:

‘We are very excited to announce our proposed site and also let the people of the borough take a look at these impressive images and plans. We are so pleased to be working with Oldham based contractors Willmott Dixon and we anticipate a whole range of events and opportunities for those interested in the Brian Clarke CE Academy to learn much more about the new school”.

You can view the design and site plans and download a copy of the full architect “design and access statement”.