Budmouth Academy
Academy in Weymouth, Dorset, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Budmouth Academy (formerly Budmouth College) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Weymouth, Dorset, overlooking the Jurassic Coast in England.[2] It is named after the semi-fictional town of Budmouth (based on Weymouth) in Thomas Hardy's novels.
| Budmouth Academy | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
Chickerell Road , , DT4 9SY England 50.6111°N 2.4911°W | |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Trust | Aspirations Academies Trust |
| 147443 Tables | |
| Ofsted | Reports |
Principal | Sara Mashike[1] |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1,515 |
| Website | www |
Facilities
The school caters for over 1,500 students in the 11–18 range (school years 7–13), and is the only school in Weymouth to have a sixth form. The facilities include extensive playing fields covering 12 acres (49,000 m2), netball and tennis courts, several design studios, and a photography workshop. Also forming part of the site is the privately owned Budmouth Community Sports Centre, which opened in 2003.[3]
2018 Ofsted report and aftermath
In June 2018, Budmouth College - which had been rated "outstanding" in 2010 and 2013 - was deemed to be "inadequate" by Ofsted inspectors.[4] Four months later Ofsted inspector Steve Smith was reported as saying the school had improved following the removal of its "dysfunctional governing body".[5] In September 2019, the school became an academy, sponsored by the Aspiration Academy Trust, and was renamed Budmouth Academy.[6] The school closed on 31 August 2019[7] pending its academisation.[8]
Book controversy
In 2025, the school removed the novel The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas from the reading list for its Year 10 pupils.[9] This was because a parent had complained about sexual scenes in the book, its language and the portrayal of white people as "'the baddies'"; the parent said "'You are teaching my daughters that their inherited skin colour makes then baddies. That is racism'".[9][10] The parent also complained about Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman; the school is unlikely to remove this novel as it is on the syllabus.[10] Other parents and ex-pupils started a petition to put The Hate U Give back on the list.[10] An ex-student said "'The bigger problem is that it feels like one parent's complaint has decided it for everyone, which isn’t fair. We should be trusted to handle these conversations'".[10]