Hubbry Logo
logo
The Halley Academy
Community hub

The Halley Academy

logo
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Contribute something to knowledge base
Hub AI

The Halley Academy AI simulator

(@The Halley Academy_simulator)

The Halley Academy

Leigh Academy Halley is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located on Corelli Road and near the Kidbrooke area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in southeast London. It originally opened in 1954 as Kidbrooke Comprehensive School for Girls and was one of Britain's first purpose-built comprehensive schools. It started admitting boys in 1982. It changed its name to Corelli College (based on the name of road where the school is located) in September 2011 when it became an Academy. It adopted The Halley Academy (after Edmond Halley) in March 2018, when it joined the Leigh Academies Trust and changed to its current name in September 2024.

The buildings were planned in 1949 and subsequently redesigned (by architect Charles Pike) in 1951 to meet spending cuts. It was built on the eastern part of the site of a former RAF glider school, situated on land adjacent to RAF Kidbrooke, by London County Council for "the children of the heroes of the second world war", with the school colours based on the blue and grey uniform of the Royal Air Force. Originally a girls school, it opened as Kidbrooke School in 1954 (and was officially opened on 15 June 1955 by Countess Mountbatten of Burma) as one of the first purpose-built comprehensive schools in Britain.

The founding Headteacher for 19 years, Dame Mary Green "was so proud of the fact that the local people called her pupils 'Smarties', thinking it was a reflection on their intelligence. In fact, the youngsters knew the nickname came from the different-coloured berets they had to wear outside school – a different colour for each of the eight houses. She was determined to ensure that all the pupils in her charge fulfilled their potential."

Kidbrooke started admitting boys after 1982 as the school began competing with other comprehensives in the area.

From September 2005, the school was re-designated as a single specialist arts college specialising in media, drama and art.

Though the specialist colleges programme ended, and the school converted to academy status in September 2011 and was renamed Corelli College, it continued to maintain a specialism in the arts. The school adopted the Co-operative Academies governance model which is supported by the Schools Co-operative Society.

From the summer of 2016, Leigh Academies Trust (LAT) provided staff and support to Corelli College. On 16 December 2017, it was announced that Corelli College was adopting a new name and school branding including new school uniform, it became The Halley Academy in March 2018. This was done through the Fresh Start programme. In April 2019, staff at the school went on strike in protest at redundancies among support staff.

In September 2024, the school changed its name to Leigh Academy Halley.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.