We’re deeply saddened to share the news that Sir Brian Clarke, our school’s patron and namesake, passed away on 1st July 2025.
Sir Brian was more than a world-renowned artist — he was a kind, generous soul who never forgot his Oldham roots. He believed in young people, in creativity, and in the power of education to change lives. That’s why he gave his name to our school, and why he gave so much of himself to support it. Even our school badge was designed by Sir Brian.
One of the most beautiful gifts he left us is the stunning stained glass window that now stands proudly in our school. Just this week, it formed the backdrop to our science celebration event with another proud Oldhamer, Professor Brian Cox — a moment that brought together science, art, and inspiration. Sir Brian was given an honourable mention during the event, and it felt right. His presence was felt in the light, the colour, and the spirit of the day.
As we head into our fourth year of students, we know how lucky we are to be part of something so special. Our school is thriving — full of energy, ambition, and hope — and Sir Brian’s legacy is woven into everything we do.
We’ll miss his warmth, his wisdom, and his unwavering belief in what young people can achieve. But we’ll carry his light forward, every day.
Thank you, Sir Brian. You’ll always be part of our story.
Brian Clarke students and staff welcomed a visit from Dame Rachel De Souza, The Children’s Commissioner, on Wednesday 4th September, to celebrate the school’s record of great attendance.
The work of the Children’s Commissioner is to understand what children and young people think about things that affect them and Dame Rachel spent a lot of time touring the school and hearing young people’s opinions. She said, “You want children running to school, and that’s what this school has got.” She said how impressed she was , having seen “amazing things”, including the young people’s enthusiasm and enjoyment and thriving in their education.
Headteacher, Mrs Ash, said “Attendance sits within school culture and a sense of belonging. That sense of belonging is built on firm foundations and relationships. Our families and children are aspirational, and this is a school that they want to belong to”.
Dame Rachel De Souza is leading the Manchester Attendance Alliance, making sure all young people in Greater Manchester get into school and thrive. The alliance has committed to tackling absence rates and setting up a regional plan to address year 6 to 7 transition attendance issues and ‘severe’ absence.
Mrs Ash spoke about the Children’s Commissioner’s visit, in the context of it being at the start of the new academic year for Brian Clarke, after the unacceptable events of the summer which affected children, families and staff. She said the school have worked hard to celebrate diversity, belonging and inclusion and that the riots had the potential to undermine the work they do and have done. But she said school leaders “must remain optimistic” and said that Brian Clarke would continue the work that they do through educating students and reaffirming culture, talking about what happened and building on a sense of belonging and culture. She said, “Dame Rachel De Souza coming today signifies how people are paying attention, about what is going on in our schools, on the ground”.
Brian Clarke CE Academy is part of the Cranmer Education Trust, a growing schools trust where family and community are central to identity and culture.
We work together to provide the best possible education for all our young people, and to build cohesive, respectful, happy and safe schools that are multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-faith and multi-talented. We teach and model the values of inclusion, equity, diversity and social justice that are at the heart of strong, thriving communities
Families, students, staff, governors and guests gathered to celebrate the official opening of Oldham’s Newest School – The Brian Clarke C of E Academy, which is part of the Cranmer Education Trust.
Student performances included piano recitals, poetry and choral performances.
The assembled audience heard Headteacher Allison Ash share how privileged she feels to lead such a successful school and thanked everyone who has been involved in its conception and completion. School Governor the Reverend Canon Jean Hurlston spoke about the school’s mission and vision and offered prayers for its continued success.
Cranmer Education Trust CEO Julie Hollis highlighted that the school has been open to young people for 20 months, first in temporary buildings and then from June 2023 in the new building, but the school also has 6 years of history and planning and collective effort and determination before that, through challenging national and global times.
She went on to thank local political leaders, faith leaders, local authority officers, local MP Jim McMahon, Bishop Mark Davies and everyone who was part of the actual design and construction of the building.
School Patron Sir Brian Clarke was unable to attend the ceremony due to illness. She told attendees:
“Brian is an international artist. He works in stained glass and has developed new technologies to take a medieval art form and bring it into the modern age and has created works across the world that make buildings radiate and shimmer with light and colour. He has worked with the greatest international architects, from London to New York to Riyadh and Tokyo.
Brian asked if he could create and donate unique stained glass windows to this school, because Oldham and its people mean so much to him. He was born here. His family worked in the mills. He says that his bones are made of the dust from the red brick, His earliest memories were of the hooters and whistles marking the shifts and great tides of people coming in and out of work. He said:
“the warmth of the people and the matter-of-factness with which relentless hard work was embraced has been a compass setting that has navigated my life”
sir brian clarke
Artist & Patron
He believes that he owes his industry, his resilience, his sense of purpose, direction and integrity to the community he came from. And he wanted to put something back, to do something special for the young people of the borough. A new school which has “Luceat lux vestra – let your light shine” as its motto spoke to him.
So now it’s over to us to take on that message of ambition and excellence and community, and the faith and hope that it rests on.”
Guests, including members of Sir Brian’s studio team who travelled from London to be part of the ceremony, were then treated to tours of the school building and the 6 stained glass windows created by Sir Brian. The event concluded with an unveiling of a plaque by Dr Sean Curley on behalf of the trustees of the Cranmer Education Trust and Governors of the school and the blessing of the building by Bishop Mark of Middleton.
Pictures show the unique stained glass windows situated in the dining area of the new school.
We have been overwhelmed by the number of parents/carers/students that have already signed up to our Open Evening on the 6th October.
If you are a parent of Year 5 & 6 we are delighted to welcome you to the Brian Clarke open evening on Thursday the 6th of October 2022. The event will take place at our sister school Blue Coat and will run from 6.00pm – 8.00pm.
We can’t believe this is our second ever Open Evening and it only feels like yesterday we were welcoming parents/carers/students to our vision and plans for the school. Fast forward 12 months and we already have our first cohort settled in our temporary facilities with our new town centre building moving successfully to its final stages.
If you would like to learn more about The Brian Clarke Academy, then please feel free to book a ticket and join us. For more information head over to our events page where you can find out all the information that you need as well as the facility to book your ticket
We join the nation in mourning the passing of Her Majesty The Queen.
We are saddened to hear of the death of Queen Elizabeth, a shining example of duty, kindness and public service. we send our heartfelt sympathy to her family in their loss.
We recently welcomed a whole host of very special guests to a “signing of the steels” ceremony at the new Brian Clarke C of E Academy site at Bloom Street in the centre of Oldham.
The (now former) Mayoress Jennifer Harrison was joined by two of our brand new students who will be part of the first cohort to join the school, which is part of the Oldham-based Cranmer Education Trust, in September. Additionally, members of the new staff body and current sixth formers from The Blue Coat School, which is also part of the Cranmer Education Trust and will be the natural progression for Brian Clarke students, joined in the ceremony.
They were all welcomed on site by the school’s Headteacher Allison Ash, Cranmer Education Trust CEO Julie Hollis and the site manager Andy Beale from Oldham-based main contractor Willmott Dixon.
The signing of the steels has become part of the tradition of marking the celebration of a brand new building, along with “topping out” when the last brick or tile of a more traditional building is laid.
Former Mayoress Jennifer Harrison said:
“I congratulate everybody on, the fantastic progress that’s been made! I really hope you’ll invite me to the opening and I really look forward to seeing the finished product and young people having a fantastic education. And we’ve all been part of history today, haven’t we? Our signatures are part of the fabric of the new school!”
Headteacher Allison Ash added:
“Its been such a lovely ceremony, and to have the Mayoress as well as one of the first students and members of staff being made part of the history of this brand new school is amazing. We are so pleased that the school has proved so popular, with close to 700 applications. All 240 places have been offered and accepted and our admissions policy has worked so well. We really are going to see a student population that is a reflection of the town and borough”.
September 2022
The Brian Clarke C of E Academy will open in a new, temporary school building situated on the site of The Blue Coat School in September 2022 with the move to our permanent home taking place in the spring of 2023.
Things are continuing to move at pace in all areas at Brian Clarke.
If you have driven past the site recently you will have noticed that the steels are up, and you can start to see the shape of what will be our new home.
In the midst of all the hard work, the builders and Willmott Dixon staff have welcomed the opportunity to engage our primary and secondary school pupils in visits to the site or to schools to explain how the school is developing and encourage young people to look at all the huge variety of careers in construction, engineering and architecture.
The new school in the centre of the town with a stained-glass installation from Brian Clarke provides a wonderful opportunity for the community to witness the creation of a beautiful building which will be a beacon for learning in the centre of the town.
Transition
Plans are well underway for transition. All the staff at Brian Clarke are looking forward to meeting students and parents at transition evening on Thursday 23rd June at 6pm until 7pm and students on the transition day on the Thursday 30th June 9am until 3pm. A letter will be sent nearer the time to confirm all of the specific arrangements for these events. Transition visits to primary schools will begin after SATs.
School Uniform and Policies
Uniform is now in stock! We have already had some photos through from excited students and their parents who have been quick off the mark and are keen to model their wares. The Cranmer Education Trust and the Brian Clarke team have been very emotional receiving all the photos and messages from parents. It really is the beginning of something very special. It was three years ago that the Cranmer Education Trust was given the official go ahead to open a new secondary school and it is wonderful that all of our hopes and aspirations for the young people of Oldham are finally bearing fruition.
Founding student Alyshea tries on her new school uniform and PE Kit
The uniform will also be on display at the transition evening. You will see from our uniform and the policy around expectations that students will look very smart and represent themselves, their families and the school with pride. Please see our Uniform Policy which details all the requirements and also has a visual guide to support parents/carers. We have also confirmed our teamwear for competitive sports that ensures the Brian Clarke students can play and look the part when the time comes to compete against other schools in organised events and fixtures.
Several other school policies have been uploaded to the website here for you to familiarise yourselves with and we will continue to upload policies and update the website over the coming months.
Share your photos with us: If you want to share photos of your children in their new uniform and give us permission to use them on our website and social media, then feel free to send them to us at [email protected]
Term Dates
The school term dates have been confirmed for our first academic year. 2022-2023 is the first year of our new school, and we are bringing together a new community of students and staff for the first time. To ensure that students get the best possible start to their secondary school, the first week of term will be devoted to staff induction and training. Term commences for students on Monday 12th September at 8.15am. The learning environment and curriculum for the temporary environment have been meticulously planned to ensure our students make the very best possible start.
It’s a real privilege to be able to communicate now with our founding families and their children. We will of course continue to update on developments and over the coming months be gathering statutory information from families.
Wishing all the young people the very best for their upcoming SATs and the celebrations that will inevitably follow.
Follow us
As always, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Our social media channels will highlight all the going ons surrounding the school, and we would love it if you could help us grow them.
Brian Clarke reached an important milestone in its’ preparations for September. We successfully recruited the core team of extremely talented teaching staff – all experts in their field and absolutely committed to living and breathing the values of Ambition, Excellence and Community for our young people. We were inundated with applications, and it was an honour and privilege to hand pick the staff who will be joining me on the journey to establishing an outstanding school in Oldham. Please see the staff section of about us for details of the staff appointed.
The build
The build is progressing extremely well. A mild winter has meant everything is on schedule for us to move in early May. We will continue to visit the site and send updates on progress when appropriate.
Admissions
We are full for September 2022 and honoured that so many families have chosen Brian Clarke for their children. Being a mother of a year 6 child myself I completely understand what it means to entrust your child in the care of a new school for the next five years.
Transition
Our plans for transition are now well underway. Over the next few months, we will be starting to collect information from families and primary schools about each and every child. Gathering this information is extremely important. We endeavour to really know each child that will walk through our gates in September.
Please see the transition section of the school website for detailed information. Two key dates are important:
· Transition evening on the 23rd of June 6-7pm
· Transition day for pupils on the 30th of June 9am-3pm
Both of these events for this year only at Blue Coat school. Attending the transition evening with your child and ensuring your child attends transition day will ensure your child makes the best possible start to their secondary school life.
From May onwards we will also begin the process of visiting children in their primary schools to answer any questions that they might have and to help alleviate any fears.
I am really looking forward to meeting you all in June
It has been an exciting couple of weeks for the Brian Clarke Academy.
We have been hiring
I have spent my time heavily involved in recruiting the founding members of teaching staff who will be joining the school.
Recruiting the right staff at all levels is absolutely crucial to delivering on our outstanding curriculum and pastoral provision. Our recruitment processes are extremely rigorous, and I have been joined by experts from across the Trust schools to support in making these appointments. A huge thank you to staff and pupils at St Anne’s Academy, The Blue Coat School, Mayfield Primary school and East Crompton St George’s for making all the recruitment possible.
During recruitment, I have been looking for people who really understand what exceptional provision looks like in their subject domain; people who are absolutely committed to the mission of Ambition, Community and Excellence for our young people and those who are excited about the journey we are on to building an outstanding school for the community of Oldham.
We have been overwhelmed with applications to the posts that have been advertised and I am looking forward to sharing the identities of those appointed in the very near future and also continuing this process as we start to also recruit into those vitally important support staff roles too – the backbone of any school!
Our admissions team are in the process of finalising the offers for Brian Clarke with the Local Authority. We have been heavily oversubscribed for the 240 places receiving nearly 600 applications.
A reminder of important dates
Offer Day for Brian Clarke is Wednesday 23rd February 2022 (check your emails from 9am).
Parents/carers will receive their Local Authority offer on Tuesday 1st March 2022.
Following that date, parents have until 3pm on Wednesday 9th March 2022 to confirm whether they accept the offer of a place at Brian Clarke.
Transition Day
What’s been really exciting is confirming the arrangements around transition. The transition day for Brian Clarke for our founding cohort of Year 7 pupils will take place on Thursday the 30th June at the Blue Coat School. A transition evening for parents/carers will also take place at Blue Coat school for families who have accepted a place for their child to attend Brian Clarke the week before the transition day. Parents/carers will receive all the relevant information in relation to transition as those dates approach. Our team of staff are also very much looking forward to beginning the process of visiting our founding group of Year 7s towards the end of May once SATs have been completed.
January has been an extremely busy month with lots to update on already.
Spade in the ground ceremony
Last Friday (14th January) signified an important milestone – the official spade in the ground. It was a beautiful winters day and the sun could not have shined brighter. Our builders Willmott- Dixon kindly welcomed our team and a number of students from Mayfield primary school onto the site to proudly explain developments. The children were enthusiastically supporting the builders by doing their own spot of digging and also getting to have a ride on some of the very large machinery. I also fulfilled one of my own childhood ambitions and joined in with the fun!
It truly was a momentous occasion finished off with chocolate cake baked by our very own CEO for the Trust Julie Hollis. The builders (you’ll be unsurprised to hear) will happily welcome us back as long as we bring cake!
Recruitment Push
We also held our virtual online recruitment event where we explained our mission and vision for the school and young people and our absolute commitment to recruiting a team of exceptional staff for the new school. Over 160 people turned up to the event and our first teaching vacancies have now gone live. I will be interviewing throughout February and look forward to announcing the various appointments as they happen.
Uniform
We have also been finalising the details on our uniform and PE kit and all our competitive sports wears. The pupils at Brian Clarke are going to look extremely smart – this will be going up on the website very soon.
Admissions
Finally admissions. We have been working very closely with the local authority and are looking forward to allocating places. The Offer Day for the Brian Clarke Church of England Academy is Wednesday 23rd February 2022. We will be sending emails out to all parents/carers on this date so please do check your inbox! Following that date, parents have until 3pm on 9th March 2022 to confirm whether they accept the offer of a place.
The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy is proud to be part of the Cranmer Education Trust
Cranmer Education Trust is a company limited by guarantee and an exempt charity registered in England. Company registration number: 07687709. Registered Office: Cranmer Education Trust, c/o The Blue Coat School, Egerton Street, Oldham OL1 3SQ. The website address is www.cranmereducationtrust.com and the phone number 0161 785 5082.
