George Spencer Academy - Overview

Overview

The school is situated in Stapleford near the Toton boundary. Able to be seen from Stapleford's Bardill's roundabout, it has a lower and an upper site over the A52 and is consequently the only school in England to have a footbridge over an A road.

Students begin education at George Spencer at the age of eleven. The school has three feeder schools: Fairfield Primary School, Chetwynd Road Primary School and Bispham Drive Junior School, however children from other primary schools are able to apply. At the end of Year 11 (aged 16) around half the students choose to stay on at the academy's sixth form for further education. Year groups 7-9 are dubbed the "r-phase" and study "Learning to Learn" lessons until the end of Year 8 focussing on reflectiveness, resourcefulness and resilience. Years 10 and 11 are the "i-phase". Each year group is split into the P-half and S-half due to the school's large pupil intake to allow for easier lesson co-ordination. Students' forms are split into George Spencer's four houses: Armstrong, Hubble, Loxley and Socrates. These houses are named after academic pioneers, except Loxley which is named after the accepted birthplace of Robin Hood. George Spencer's "school aim" is "to achieve excellence through innovation and individualised learning".

George Spencer Academy has its own radio station known as GSA Radio, started by former pupil Michael Sibert in 2004. The station broadcasts daily and is available throughout the entire school through a computer programme.