Belfairs Academy
Address
Highlands Boulevard Leigh-on-Sea , Essex , SS9 3TG England
Coordinates	51°33′01″N 0°38′25″E / 51.55024°N 0.64015°E / 51.55024; 0.64015
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Shaping the Future
Established	1955
Local authority	Southend-on-Sea City Council
Department for Education URN	138174 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair of Governors	Dominic Carver
Principal	Bev Williams
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	1324
Houses	Resolute – Defender – Endeavour
Colour(s)	Maroon and light blue
Website	belfairsacademy.org.uk

Belfairs Academy (formerly Belfairs High School) is a non-selective secondary school with academy status in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.^[1]

As Belfairs High School, the school was inspected by Ofsted in 2010 and judged Good.^[2] Following conversion to an academy, the school was inspected in 2013 and judged Good.^[3] A short inspection took place in 2016, and found that the school continued to be good.^[4][5] An inspection took place in 2024, where the school was judged Needs Improvement; teaching was not effective and students' outcomes were too low.^[6]

In March 1955, UK Minister of Education David Eccles joined local dignitaries at Belfairs High School to open eight schools in the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea.^{[citation needed]}

The opening of these eight schools in the Southend-on-Sea borough would "represent an addition of 3,520 school places." During this period, demand upon the council to increase school locations was driven by a number of factors.^{[citation needed]}

During the war, the County Borough suffered relatively little damage to school buildings. Only two schools were severely bombed, and the post-war urgent need for new school places was therefore only attributable in a small part by war damage. The greatest need has been to provide schools for the increased numbers of children of school age, due to an increased total population, the higher birth rate, and the raising of the school leaving age from 14 to 15 in 1947.^{[citation needed]}

With an increase in total school places across the borough, a large proportion of these places were created in the development of Belfairs High School. Belfairs was originally conceived as a comprehensive school for 1,600 boys but due to the 'changes in national economy and the need for more school places' the site was developed into two 'Modern Secondary Schools,' Belfairs High School for boys and Belfairs High School for girls.^{[citation needed]}

The two schools were created to serve the area of Leigh-on-Sea, with a zone extending from the western boundary of the County Borough to Southbourne Grove and Crowstone Road. They replaced the former West Leigh High School, which was part of an "all-age" school built before the First World War.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2009, the school was given permission for a £24 million rebuild. Belfairs High School was the only school in Southend to be completely rebuilt under the previous government's 'Building School's for the Future' scheme.^[7]

In September 2011, the newly built school building was opened.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2012, Belfairs was granted Academy Status coinciding with a newly appointed head, taking responsibility from Headteacher John Duprey, Beverly Williams.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2015, it was announced that Belfairs Academy and Cecil Jones College would be combined to form an academy trust with Beverly Williams as Executive Headteacher, headquartered at Belfairs Academy Site.^{[citation needed]}

Students' achievement is good with 69% of students achieving 5 A*-C GCSE grades (including English and Maths) in 2013 against a national average of 59%.^[8]

• The Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York
• Robert Daws, actor
• Alfie Lewis, footballer^[9]
• George Sear, actor
• Maisie Smith, actress in EastEnders
• Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips, actress in Fortitude, Off the Rails

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