Unity College, Burnley

Unity College

Motto	Unity, Passion, Respect
Established	2006
Type	Foundation school
Headteacher	Mrs Sally-Jane Cryer
Chair of Governors	Mr Michael Murray
Location	Towneley Holmes Burnley Lancashire BB11 3EN England Coordinates: 53°46′59″N 2°13′16″W / 53.783°N 2.221°W / 53.783; -2.221
Local authority	Lancashire
DfE URN	135003 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Students	929
Gender	mixed
Ages	11–16
Colours	purple
Website	Official website

Unity College is a mixed 11-16 comprehensive school in Burnley, Lancashire, England.

History

Former school

Towneley High School originally opened in 1941. During its history it had been a technical school, an all-boys school, and latterly a mixed 11-16 community school. It was the first Lancashire school to be awarded by Investors in People.^[1]

Early history

The College initially occupied the former Towneley High School, but moved to a state of the art new £33m building in September 2010 as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme.^[2] The school was named by a local pupil, Heather Ashworth, who won a competition launched by the local radio station 2BR. The new school's first head teacher, Sally Cryer, had previously been head at Towneley.^[3] The school is located in Towneley Park, and the county council's decision to site the new building, on playing-fields close to the old school, rather than reusing the existing site, was contentious. Despite plans to turn the old site into parkland, objections from local residents prompted the borough council's refusal to sell the land, triggering a 2007 public inquiry that subsequently backed the plans.^[4][5]

The 20 January 2011 edition of Question Time was broadcast from Unity College, with some pupils in the audience. The panel featured PFA chairman and Burnley FC captain Clarke Carlisle, Conservative Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman, former Respect MP George Galloway, former communications director to the Prime Minister Alastair Campbell, and Lib Dem Deputy Leader Simon Hughes.^[6]

Attainment

In 2007, the school's value-added measure was 971 (national average 1000), which placed it in the bottom 5% nationally for adding value between the end of Key Stage 2 and the end of Key Stage 4.^[7] In 2009 the college had increased its attainment to 29% 5 A*-C passes including English and Maths. The college has also improved its 5A*-C measure from below 30% to 64% in just three years.

Notable former pupils

Towneley High School

• Dr Christine Braddock DBE, Chief Executive of Birmingham Metropolitan College and High Sheriff of the West Midlands (2013–14).^[8]
• Alice (Anne) Nutter, Chumbawamba musician and writer.
• David Readman, singer.
• Stella Reid, TV nanny.
• Robert Just, All round Legend.

References