Oakwood Academy

I have been working at Oakwood Academy for the last 21 years. I started my career at Oakwood as a TA supporting students within the classrooms. I soon found a passion for supporting young people with SEND and through working with amazing and inspirational staff I then completed my HLTA. This gave me experience of teaching KS3 and 4 for four years. I progressed onto the role of Transition Advisor, this jobs ensured all students had the opportunity of continuing their education after year 11 at Oakwood.

While working as the transition advisor I completed a BA Honours Degree in Teaching Learning and Mentoring at night school. I then complete the Assessment only route and qualified as an English teacher.

Through my teaching / transition role I worked with the students as they moved through the school, I saw how they gained confidence in their abilities and developed their academic careers very successfully. Unfortunately, there wasn’t always the provision suitable to build on the amazing work that had been put in by Oakwood when the students left in year 11. To make sure the students continued to progress successfully I suggested to the Head teacher the possibility of Oakwood having its own Sixth Form. From this conversation we quickly established out own Sixth Form which has grown from strength to strength. Starting with twelve students in September 2012, we have now grown to over 66 students to date.

Due to the growth of the Sixth Form we have now successfully relocated to the heart of Media City where we are able to build on the work experience and employability opportunities in one of the most popular locations in the country.

We are continuing to grow to offer a five-day provision, a range of vocational qualification, work experience and academic qualifications to 100 students.

Liz Capell - Head of Kings College