No vacancies at the JCB Academy
THE JCB Academy has opened a waiting list for places at the unique £22 million regional centre of learning after becoming fully subscribed several months ahead of its September opening.
A total of 170 young people have enrolled for the Year 10 and Sixth Form places at The Academy, which will help nurture the UK’s engineers and business leaders of the future.
The enthusiastic response of parents and students to the only learning establishment of its kind in the UK means applicants are now going on a waiting list in case some of the allocated places are not taken up at the start of the inaugural term.
JCB Academy principal Jim Wade said: ‘We are delighted that The Academy is fully subscribed and that it has proven to be so popular that there is now a waiting list for places. I am sure this kind of interest will continue in the future.’
The Academy, based in the renovated historic Grade II-listed Tutbury Mill, close to JCB’s world headquarters in Rocester, will welcome 120 Year 10 students (14-year-olds) who, over two years, will study for the new Diplomas in Engineering and Business as well as GCSEs in the core subjects of maths, English, sciences, a modern foreign language and ICT. In addition, 50 Year-12 Sixth-Form students have been awarded places to study for Advanced Engineering and Advanced Business Diplomas.
Like other state schools, the JCB Academy is funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), but as main sponsors JCB contributed 10% of the capital and donated Tutbury Mill. Eventually, the world-class learning facility will cater for a maximum of 540 young people. Applications for entry into Year 10 for 2011 will open in September.
