THE first pupils at the JCB Academy have officially started their lessons as the doors opened four years after the vision for the unique school was conceived.
The £22 million Rocester-based academy, which is the brainchild of Sir Anthony Bamford, welcomed 120 year 10 pupils to study a curriculum designed to produce the engineers and business leaders of the future.
Sir Anthony said: “I am passionate about engineering and committed to British manufacturing but we need the right calibre of young people to ensure that we continue to be a nation that makes things in an innovative way.
“The JCB Academy is one small step to helping achieve that aim. The facilities here are second-tonone and offer the students the opportunity to learn about manufacturing and engineering in a way that is exciting and practical and aligned to the needs of employers when they qualify in a few years time.” In excess of £1 million worth of modern engineering equipment has been installed in the academy, created in the Grade II listed Arkwright Mill, which includes the only plasma cutter to be based in the UK.
Engineering tasks to be completed have been set by JCB, Rolls-Royce, Toyota, Network Rail, Bentley, Bombardier, Rexroth Bosch Group, National Grid, Zytek Automotive, the institution of Mechanical Engineers, IET, Harper Adams University College, The Royal Academy of Engineering and Parker Vansco.
They will complete their engineering tasks alongside maths, English, science and German GCSEs.
On Monday, 50 sixth-formers will start their studies.
Principal Jim Wade said: “It’s very exciting to welcome pupils here after all the years and months of preparation.
“We have the very best of facilities here geared to educating our young people to a level that gives them the employability skills they — and British manufacturing — need when they leave.
“It is only the start of the journey and already we are making plans to recruit the next intake of students and with demand high for places we urge those wishing to apply to come to one of three special open evenings at the academy on either October 5, 7 or 13.” The academy is funded by the Department of Education and the main sponsor, JCB, contributed 10 per cent of the capital and the mill.
Finger recognition technology using biometric information will be deployed at the academy enabling pupils to register their attendance, pay for lunch and sign on to their laptops, which they can keep when they leave.
Julie Pegg, whose 14-year-old daughter Amy has joined the academy, said: “We attended an open evening earlier in the year and from that moment on we saw this as an excellent opportunity.
“With JCB and other major companies such as Rolls-Royce onboard there seems to be more of a chance for Amy to succeed here than there is at a mainstream school.
“The curriculum is imaginative, the location and the building is fantastic and it gives the students the chance to be really hands-on and practical in lessons and stretch their imagination.”
