Josephine Butler Primary Academy

General information

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The Northumberland Church of England Academy (NCEA) opened in September 2009 with joint sponsorship from the Duke of Northumberland’s Estates and the Diocese of Newcastle to provide an education for children across all key stages from nursery to Key Stage 5.

The academy was formed through the re-organisation and amalgamation of 10 schools within a catchment area that covers 10 wards within the districts of Wansbeck and Castle Morpeth. The schools that came together were:

Lynemouth First School; Moorside First School, Windsor First School and Newbiggin Middle School in Newbiggin by the Sea; Alexandra First School, Hawthorn CoE First School, Coulson Park First School, Welbeck First School, Seaton Hirst CoE Middle School and Hirst High School in Ashington.

The Riverbank (Y9-14) and Cheviot Units (Y5-9) for special needs children, which were located in the Hirst High School and Seaton Hirst CoE Middle School respectively, came together to form The Centre within the Academy. From September 2011 the Abbeyfields School Special Group (R-Y4) joined The Centre.

An extensive building and refurbishment programme, which was completed in March 2012, has concentrated the Academy into six campuses; William Leech at Lynemouth; Grace Darling at Newbiggin by the Sea; and Josephine Butler, James Knott, Thomas Bewick and Robert Stephenson in Ashington. The William Leech, Grace Darling and Josephine Butler campuses were new buildings funded by Northumberland County Council and the Department for Education.