What's special about Abraham Darby Academy

Abraham Darby Academy is a totally new school. It is an independent state school; a company limited by guarantee. The sponsors of the Academy are the Haberdashers' Livery Company and Telford and Wrekin LA. It opened in September 2008 as the successor to the Abraham Darby School and as part of The Haberdashers' Adams' Federation along with Adams Grammar School, Newport. The Haberdashers' Adams Federation  provides a strong joint partnership structure at various levels: Governance, joint support services, Training School, support for learning and student development. There are 900 places in the Academy in years 7 to 11, and potentially 200 places in the 6th Form.

The Philosophy:

"Talking up students' aspirations is crucial. If you look out for the things that people are doing well and emphasise the positive, dealing with the negative in a sensible and tactful way, you're likely to make people exceed their own notion of their potential. And that's what education is to a large extent about, isn't it? Helping people go beyond where they think they might go."

and Mission:

'To develop in young people of all abilities the traits necessary for them to play a useful, productive and leading role in society in the Twenty First Century, and to enable them to exceed their own notion of their potential.'

The Academy  provides its students with outstanding opportunities and aims to create an ethos of the highest possible personal achievement. To this end there are four aspirations for all students: -

• To develop students who are ambitious, hard working and successful.
• To develop in students an intellectual interest and curiosity in their studies. We want them to be excited by their studies.
• To see students fully involved in extra-curricular activities and aspiring to do these to the best standard possible.
• To encourage all students to aspire to the highest of standards of behaviour and to have high principles and values.

The medium term aspiration would be to achieve 80%+ students gaining 5 A* - C grades at GCSE in 5 years and as always our target will be to try to exceed our aspirations.