School's Heritage
School Context Information
The School Context information is an extract from our Self Evaluation Form (SEF). Visitors and parents may find this helpful in understanding some of the detailed context of St Laurence in the current school year.
St Laurence has been a Church of England standalone academy since 2011. We are fully inclusive and comprehensive, welcoming students and staff of all faiths and none. It means that we have a clear, distinctive Christian vision which underpins all aspects of school life, in line with our Academy Object. On 1st September 2023 there were 1399 students in the school, placing us in the highest quintile nationally for secondary school size. All year groups are on / close to PAN, with key stage 3 reflecting the expanded PAN of 232. The sixth form has 287 students which includes students from other schools. Students come from around 30 primary schools. The largest intakes are from Christ Church and Fitzmaurice schools in Bradford on Avon and many of our new intake students are drawn from schools outside our “designated area”.
St Laurence has been the school of choice for many families outside Bradford on Avon.
School's Heritage
Our school was formed when Fitzmaurice Grammar School and Trinity Secondary Modern School joined together in 1980, with those schools dating back to as early as 1836 and those two schools are the explanation of our dual foundation.
Fitzmaurice Grammar School took its name from Lord Fitzmaurice, who was a member of Parliament and Chairman of Wiltshire County Council in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He set up the Lord Fitzmaurice Educational Trust which, today, is one of the two parts of our school foundation. Trinity School, linked to the Diocese of Salisbury, is the other part of our school foundation and St Laurence continues to be a Church of England school with an Excellent in all Areas grading from its inspection (March 2022).
The following link gives further information regarding the areas of historical interest on our site: http://www.bradfordonavonmuseum.co.uk
