An environment designed for learning

Set on a landscaped site of just over two hectares with its own playing fields, our new academy is single-storey and of a traditional barn design with brick and timber boarding and pitched roofs finished with clay tiles.

Our pupils enjoy break times with a hard playground marked out for ball games, a range of climbing and balancing equipment laid over safety surfaces, and areas for quieter activities. Early Years classes have their own large enclosed outdoor space and an enclosed courtyard at the heart of the school creates a natural space for outdoor learning.

Inside, accommodation includes 14 attractively decorated classrooms, four group rooms, a staff room and offices, while the main hall has been designed as a flexible area that can be used for assemblies, as a dining hall, a performance space and a gymnasium.

Some areas may be available outside school hours for use by the community, including the main hall, a music and drama studio, library and ICT learning resource centre, kitchen and food technology classroom.

How is an academy different?

An academy is an independently managed, state-funded school that has freedom from local authority control and receives funding directly from the Department for Education.  Parents do not pay school fees. 

Academies have greater independence to make decisions for the benefit of their own particular school community.  They are still guided by the national education framework (and inspected by Ofsted) but can make more flexible choices, for example, on developing their curriculum and setting budget priorities to meet local needs.

Increasing numbers of schools are taking the decision to convert to academy status, often with the support of a sponsor who can provide centralised professional services.  Berewood Primary School is proud to be part of the University of Chichester Academy Trust.