The PRIDE Academy Free School
The new Free School will be renamed The PRIDE Academy. It will be a co-educational special school with 110 places for children and young people aged 11-19 who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH) in association with a range of learning needs, including a high proportion with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the Hillingdon and North West London region. Building work started in January 2021 and The PRIDE Academy will open in April 2022, on return from the Easter break.
Formerly known as the Young People’s Academy, the school is based in the London Borough of Hillingdon, and provided places for children and young people from the ages of 11-16. The intention is to close this school and to open the new Free School, on the same site, which extends the provision in the area from Key Stage 3 through to post 16.
We strongly believe that extending entry in this way will support children to achieve more fully as a result of access to specialist intervention and teaching continuously through to post 16. This extended age range and increased numbers presents a substantial change in the profile of our existing facilities.
About Orchard Hill College Academy Trust
The PRIDE Academy will be an important part of an established family of specialist schools and academies that make up Orchard Hill College Academy Trust (OHCAT). OHCAT is a ‘family ‘of schools, currently comprised of 15 special academies across London, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire.
OHCAT was established in 2013 by Orchard Hill College (OHC) to share its expertise and provide services and support to specialist schools. Together, Orchard Hill College & Academy Trust (OHC&AT) provides for over 1500 pupils and students from nursery through to further education and into adulthood.
All of us at OHC&AT are committed to realising the potential of our pupils and students and we would work together to ensure they achieve their very best in their local communities.
You can find out more about us at www.ohcat.org
