The Ruth Gorse Academy

The Ruth Gorse Academy opened in September 2014, and was initially based in the grounds of The Morley Academy.^[2] The school was named after a local teacher who died of cancer.^[3] In 2016, the school moved into a building constructed on a site formerly owned by Yorkshire Chemicals,^[4] which cost £23 million to build.^[3]

In July 2017, concerns were raised over the decision to appoint Liam Nolan as the school's principal, as he had previously resigned from the Perry Beeches Academy Trust after being criticised by the Education Funding Agency for 'significant weakness in financial management'. The school defended their decision to appoint him, describing themselves as a 'non-judgemental employer' and that they were 'entirely satisfied' Nolan had learnt from his mistakes.^[5] Nolan left the school in November 2017.^[6]

Teachers from the Ruth Gorse Academy were involved in the National Education Union strikes in February 2023.^[7]

In October 2023, the school received the 'Secondary Provision of the Year' award at the National Association for Special Education Needs awards.^[8] In December 2023, the school was rated as Outstanding by Ofsted for the second time, having previously been assessed in 2017.^[9]

• The Ruth Gorse Academy official Website