The Winsford Academy was established in September 2010 following the
amalgamation of the two predecessor schools; Verdin High School and Woodford Lodge High School.
Verdin Era: 1895–2008 The Verdin
Era spans from 1895 to 2008 and partially to 2010 – all name changes to the school retained the term 'Verdin' from its original founders; The Verdin Family. The school was initially known to residents of
Winsford as the 'Tec', but later the term 'Verdin' was used to refer to the school.
Sir Joseph Verdin and his brothers,
Robert and William ran a family
salt business known as Joseph Verdin & Sons, by 1881 the largest salt manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Having few descendants, they used their
wealth to benefit the
local community. In 1889, The Verdin Trust was established by Sir Joseph Verdin to compensate people for
subsidence caused by
brine pumping. However, from 1891 the
Brine Pumping (Compensation for Subsidence) Act 1891 (
54 & 55 Vict. c. 40) provided compensation for owners of property, thereby rendering the Trust redundant. As a result, Sir Joseph Verdin decided to use the money in other ways, including the construction and development of the Verdin Technical Schools in
Winsford and
Northwich – the one in Winsford, known as Verdin Technical School, was a prototype for a second and larger one in Northwich, that eventually opened in 1897 as Verdin Technical Schools & Gymnasium (latterly in use as Cheshire School of Art and Design, which closed in 2012). The Verdin Technical School in Winsford was located adjacent to the Over Board School near the junction of High Street and Grange Lane. The building design was decided via a 'best design'
competition that was won by Messrs Woodhouse and Willoughby,
Architects, of
Manchester. Building work, by Messrs James Fowles and Sons, of Winsford, began with an inscribed
foundation stone – still visible on the building – being laid down on 4 August 1894 by William Henry Verdin, Joseph's brother. On 8 August 1895, the building was officially opened by the
Duke and Duchess of Westminster. It was run with the IBM UK Scientific Centre, at two schools,
Ellesmere Port Grammar School and the school at Winsford. Its name remained until 2008 and partially to 2010.
Federation: 2008–2010 In 2007
Cheshire County Council undertook an extensive review of educational provision and surplus places under the Transforming Learning Communities Programme. The outcome was to Federate Verdin High School and Woodford Lodge High School from January 2008, under the name '
Winsford High School Federation'. The Federation was led and managed by a
Principal and a single
Governing Body of 21 Governors. Both schools had a site headteacher and senior managers were appointed to the Federation, however, most aspects of provision were managed on one site. On 19 April 2008, Martin Howlett was appointed
Principal of the new school federation, while the two site headteachers were Paul Harrington for Verdin High School and John Foreman for Woodford Lodge High School. While both schools retained their names and uniforms, under the Federation Verdin High School was known as 'Verdin Site' and Woodford Lodge High School was known as 'Woodford Site'. The Federation had its own logo as well as two identical logos with the site names underneath to represent both schools.
Academy: September 2010–present Proposal In March 2010,
Cheshire West and Chester Council announced that from September 2010 the two Federated schools would close to make way for an
Academy to serve the
Winsford area. A new building was planned that could accommodate 1,700 students to be built on a site behind the Verdin Exchange. There would be a 6 week public consultation on the proposal. On 5 July 2010, the Cheshire West and Chester Council confirmed the new Academy would operate from 1 September 2010, subject to the agreement of the
Education Secretary. It was to be known as the Winsford E-ACT Academy, making the two school names and the Federation redundant, and initially operating from the two existing school sites.
Opening The Winsford E-ACT Academy opened on 6 September 2010 with Andrew Kilpatrick as the Interim Principal, after the
Education Secretary, agreed to education sponsor
E-ACT having responsibility for the academy. The new school specialised in music and mathematics.
New build In December 2010 it was announced that a new £20 million school building would be built on the Verdin site, providing 1,500 places for students aged 11–16, with 200 spaces for post-16 students, to be completed by September 2013. From September 2011, the West Site (former Woodford Lodge building) closed, with all students educated at the Town Site (former Verdin High School building) until the proposed new building was completed. With
planning permission granted, the building started in April 2012. It was completed on schedule in August 2013, and was open to students in September 2013. The old Verdin building was then closed, demolished and landscaped. In March 2011, Andrew Taylor-Edwards, the Vice Principal since September 2010, was appointed as Principal of the Academy.
Change of sponsor In February 2014, it was announced that the academy was among ten Academies to be handed back to the Government amid concerns over the E-ACT chain's standards. From 1 September 2014 the academy was sponsored by
The Fallibroome Multi-Academy Trust in
Macclesfield. As a result, minor changes were made to the school
name and
logo with the removal of the word 'E-ACT'.
Closure of Sixth Form The Academy closed Sixth Form provision for new students from September 2016, and reverted to being an 11–16 school. Mr Andrew Taylor-Edwards, Principal told the
Chester Chronicle that "while the proportion of students opting to stay on for Sixth Form study has remained constant, recent cuts to funding have put increasing pressure on the financial viability of providing our small post-16 provision". == Motto ==