{{pp-pc | small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Use British English|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox school | name = Budmouth Academy | image = | image_size = | coordinates = {{coord|50.6111|-2.4911|type:edu_region:GB_dim:100|format=dec|display=inline,title}} | motto = | established = | closed = | type = [[Academy (English school)|Academy]] | trust = Aspirations Academies Trust | head_label = Principal | head = Sara Mashike<ref name="GIAS">{{cite web |title=Budmouth Academy Weymouth |url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/147443 |website=Get Information about Schools |publisher=Gov.UK |access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref> | address = Chickerell Road | city = [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]] | county = [[Dorset]] | country = England | postal_code = DT4 9SY | ofsted = yes | urn = 147443 | staff = | enrolment = 1,515 | gender = [[Coeducational]] | lower_age = 11 | upper_age = 18 | houses = | colours = | publication = | free_label1 = | free_text1 = | free_label2 = | free_text2 = | free_label3 = | free_text3 = | website = {{URL|https://www.budmouth-aspirations.org}} }}
'''Budmouth Academy''' (formerly Budmouth College) is a [[coeducational]] [[secondary school]] and [[sixth form]] in [[Weymouth, Dorset]], overlooking the [[Jurassic Coast]] in England.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.budmouth-aspirations.org/|title=Home|website=Budmouth Academy|accessdate=19 December 2022}}</ref> It is named after the semi-fictional town of Budmouth (based on Weymouth) in [[Thomas Hardy]]'s novels.
==Facilities== The school caters for over 1,500 students in the 11–18 range (school years 7–13), and is the only school in Weymouth to have a sixth form. The facilities include extensive playing fields covering {{convert|12|acre|m2}}, netball and tennis courts, several design studios, and a photography workshop. Also forming part of the site is the privately owned Budmouth Community Sports Centre, which opened in 2003.<ref>[http://www.budmouthsports.co.uk/ Budmouth Community Sports Centre official website]. Budmouthsports.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2011.</ref>
==2018 Ofsted report and aftermath== In June 2018, Budmouth College - which had been rated "outstanding" in 2010 and 2013 - was deemed to be "inadequate" by [[Ofsted]] inspectors.<ref>[https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/16286709.damning-ofsted-report-for-weymouths-budmouth-college/ "Damning OFSTED report for Weymouth's Budmouth College"], [[Dorset Echo]], 14 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.</ref> Four months later Ofsted inspector Steve Smith was reported as saying the school had improved following the removal of its "dysfunctional governing body".<ref>[https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/16973989.budmouth-school-has-been-praised-for-improvements-after-a-damning-ofsted-report/ "Budmouth School has been praised for improvements after a damning OFSTED report"], [[Dorset Echo]], 11 October 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.</ref> In September 2019, the school became an [[Academy (English school)|academy]], sponsored by the Aspiration Academy Trust, and was renamed Budmouth Academy.<ref>[https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/17376606.budmouth-college-announces-takeover-by-aspirations-academy-trust/ "Budmouth College announces takeover by Aspirations Academy Trust"], [[Dorset Echo]], 22 January 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.</ref> The school closed on 31 August 2019<ref>[https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/113902 "'Get Information About Schools' - Budmouth College], [[gov.uk]]. Retrieved 6 October 2019.</ref> pending its academisation.<ref>[https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/17854822.budmouth-will-convert-academy-says-education-secretary/ "Budmouth WILL convert to academy, says education secretary"], [[Dorset Echo]], 23 August 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.</ref>
==Book controversy==
In 2025, the school removed the novel ''[[The Hate U Give]]'' by [[Angie Thomas]] from the reading list for its Year 10 pupils.<ref name="h699">{{cite news| title=Budmouth Academy drops The Hate U Give from Year 10 reading list | work=BBC News | date=23 September 2025 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvl1p11gk3o | access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref> This was because a parent had complained about sexual scenes in the book, its language and the portrayal of white people as "'the baddies'"; the parent said "'You are teaching my daughters that their inherited skin colour makes then baddies. That is racism'".<ref name="h699"/><ref name="o979">{{cite news| last=Taylor | first=Diane | title=Dorset school urged to reinstate banned book about race to reading list | work=The Guardian | date=26 September 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/sep/26/dorset-school-urged-reinstate-book-race-banned-the-hate-u-give | access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref> The parent also complained about ''[[Pigeon English]]'' by [[Stephen Kelman]]; the school is unlikely to remove this novel as it is on the [[syllabus]].<ref name="o979"/> Other parents and ex-pupils started a petition to put ''The Hate U Give'' back on the list.<ref name="o979"/> An ex-student said "'The bigger problem is that it feels like one parent's complaint has decided it for everyone, which isn’t fair. We should be trusted to handle these conversations'".<ref name="o979"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.budmouth-aspirations.org/ Budmouth Academy official website]
{{Schools in Dorset}} {{authority control}}
[[Category:Schools in Weymouth, Dorset]] [[Category:Secondary schools in Dorset]] [[Category:Academies in Dorset]]