I am delighted to welcome you to The Ongar Academy; it is a privilege to lead this wonderful school.

We are relentless in our pursuit of excellence for all our young people.  We passionately believe in supporting every young person regardless of their background or ability and are invested in ensuring every young person achieves their potential.

The staff team at The Ongar Academy are inspirational.  Their hard work and commitment to the academic progress and wider emotional and social development of our students is nothing short of remarkable.  The care provided by the staff team ensures lessons are inspiring, challenging and thought provoking.  Our students are taught how to become independent and resilient learners from the very start.  Opportunities to develop the wider character of our young people are exploited and students contribute positively to the wider Ongar community.  Our comprehensive enrichment programme supports the development of life skills; we want to foster a lifelong love of learning.

We are unapologetic in our high expectations of behaviour, personal development, academic achievement, attendance, punctuality and appearance.  As an Academy we believe in these high standards and work hard to retain them.

This is a small school and a close community.  We care about our young people and recognise the challenges that teenage life and the modern world presents.  The staff team are skilled in assisting our young people in negotiating the challenges of 21st century Britain and supporting them in becoming who they want to be.  We believe that young people who feel safe and happy enjoy their time at school and achieve highly.

Our curriculum offer is broad, exciting and inclusive.  A range of subjects are studied which aim to capture the imagination and challenge our young people to think critically.  Our awe inspiring building, state of the art facilities and stunning setting in Essex provide a unique and inspirational environment for learning.

We want to establish supportive partnerships between school and home as we recognise the value of this in ensuring our young people achieve their best.

The Ongar Academy is a member of Bridge Academy Trust which educates children aged 3-19.  Young people attending schools within Bridge Academy Trust enjoy, enrich and achieve.

The guiding principles of Bridge Academy Trust are:

• Community at the heart with enrichment for all

• Excellence in each school

• ‘No child left behind’

• One Vision, locally shaped

• Equality/equity for all

• Outward-facing, as a Trust and for all schools within the trust

• A school-led improvement system

Mrs. Michelle Steadman

Headteacher