Haberdashers' Abraham Darby

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}

{{More footnotes needed|date=May 2022}}

{{Infobox school

| name = Haberdashers' Abraham Darby

| native_name = (Abraham Darby Academy)

| image =

| image_size = 225px

| caption = Coat of arms of the Haberdashers' Company

| coordinates = {{coord|52.6341|-2.4684|type:edu_region:GB_dim:100|format=dec|display=inline,title}}

| motto = "Confident, Calm and Caring"

| established = 2009 (Academy)

| closed =

| type = Academy

| religious_affiliation = None

| president =

| head_label = Principal

| head = Joanne Edgar

| r_head_label = Vice Principals

| r_head = Nick Scott
EG Bediako
Clemency Price
David Hughes

| chair_label = Chair of Governors

| chair = James Penney

| founder = Abraham Darby

| address = Ironbridge Road
Madeley

| city = Telford

| county = Shropshire

| country = England

| postcode = TF7 5HX

| local_authority = Telford and Wrekin

| ofsted = yes

| urn = 135582

| staff = 144

| enrolment = 1200

| gender = Coeducational

| lower_age = 11

| upper_age = 18

| houses = Webb, Owen, Woodhall and Darwin

| colours = Blue, green, red and black

| publication =

| free_label_1 = Local Authority

| free_1 = Telford and Wrekin

| free_label_2 = Trust

| free_2 = Haberdashers' West Midlands Academy Trust

| free_label_3 = Parent

| free_3 = Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School

| website = https://www.haberdashersabrahamdarby.co.uk/

}}

Haberdashers' Abraham Darby Academy in Telford, Shropshire, England, is a coeducational secondary school on Ironbridge Road in Madeley which was founded in 1937. It is named after Abraham Darby III and is situated one mile from the Iron Bridge which he built in 1779. In September 2008 the school was converted to an academy through a link to Haberdashers' Adams, and was accepted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The school is a subsidiary of Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School in Newport. It part of the HWMAT group of schools. The new-style-academy is sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers'.

History

The school was founded as Madeley Senior Council School, Hill Top, opened in 1927 with 400 mixed places. It became known as Madeley Modern School from 1944, was enlarged in 1958-59 and had 619 pupils by the end of 1959.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

It amalgamated with Coalbrookdale High School in 1965 to form the Abraham Darby Comprehensive School. There were 1,244 pupils in 1980.

The school has a musical tradition, particularly with the wind band and the Abraham Darby Showband, which has played in the Royal Albert Hall and at the Carnegie Hall in New York City. The school achieved Arts College status and again renamed itself, this time to the Abraham Darby School for the Performing Arts in 2003.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

The new building began construction in late 2009 and completed in 2012. It was officially opened by Prince Edward on 11 October 2012.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

In 2018, a new trend steming from the name change of Adams Grammar School to Haberdashers' Adams emerged and led to the name change from Abraham Darby Academy to Haberdashers' Abraham Darby as part to recognise the historical links with the Haberdashers' company and as a marketing strategy.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Academy

Links between Haberdashers' Abraham Darby Academy and Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School at Newport are strong, with student and teacher exchanges, leadership training, mentoring systems, CPD Events, a common house system and the same uniform for all year groups. There are joint events, including those for sport, music, drama and academic events. The curriculum is supported by ICT, and each school has specialisms: Abraham Darby Academy with performing arts, business, enterprise and social sciences; Adams Grammar School with Science, Mathematics, English, Technology and MFL .{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

The joint project is supported by Telford and Wrekin Council, the DCSF, and the 300-year-old Haberdashers' Company as a sponsor. The two schools, although operating separately, will share governors. Part of the project will be a capital investment, and new school building by 2011.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

ADA student uniform comprises a tie, and a blazer bearing the Haberdashers’ crest, identical to that of Adams Grammar.

Notable alumni

{{Alumni|date=July 2013}}

  • Former English super-middleweight professional boxer Richie Woodhall (attended during the 1980s).{{Cite web |title=It's back to school in Telford for boxer Richie Woodhall |url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/09/12/its-back-to-school-in-telford-for-boxer-richie-woodhall/ |access-date=2022-05-20 |website=www.shropshirestar.com |language=en}}

=Madeley Modern School=

=Coalbrookdale County High School=

Notable staff

=Madeley Modern School=

  • Mary Whitehouse, founder of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, was art teacher and senior mistress there from 1960 until 1964 when she began to concentrate full-time on her TV clean-up campaigns.{{cite news|title=Fearsome Mary and her fight to rid TV of 'filth'|work=Shropshire Star|date=11 October 2021|pages=20, 29}}Report by Toby Neal, part of 'Great Lives' series on Midlands worthies.

References

{{Reflist}}