The Business Academy Bexley is a school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 for ages 3–19 in South Thamesmead

Thamesmead

Thamesmead is a district of south-east London, England, located in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is situated east of Charing Cross....

, the London Borough of Bexley

London Borough of Bexley

The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, operating under the Academy

Academy (England)

In the education system of England, an academy is a school that is directly funded by central government and independent of control by local government in England. An academy may receive additional support from personal or corporate sponsors, either financially or in kind...

 programme for schools which are independently run but receive public funding. The secondary school opened in 2002, and relocated to dedicated premises in September 2003, while the primary school section opened in 2004. As of 2007 the total enrollment was 1,477.

The school was constructed on a 33 acres (133,546.4 m²) site at a cost of £31m. Architect Norman Foster designed the building, which was nominated for the 2004 Stirling Prize

Stirling Prize

The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...

, and some parts have been compared to "a smart City office". The main private sponsor is property developer David Garrard, chairman of the Minerva group, who donated £2 million.

Some teachers at nearby schools expressed reservations about new school.

However the Academy didn't make the progress expected and by 2007 was languishing at the bottom of the School League tables for Bexley. In 2008 GCSE results and value added placed it ahead of a number of other non-selective schools in Bexley.

On September 25, The Business Academy Bexley was featured on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

's programme 'Derren Brown: How to be a Psychic Spy'.

External links

• The Business Academy Bexley website
• The Business Academy Bexley, Ofsted
  Ofsted
  The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....