Welcome to The Ongar Academy or TOA for short!

We are a unique village secondary school that has so much to offer every student within our care.

Students are guided to live and breathe our core values of Resilience, Respect, Integrity and Community.

Resilience is a word that is often associated with strength of character and well-being. However, we also look at this from a learning perspective. We want students to be resilient in their pursuit of excellence. Learning does not happen in a straight line. We often have to take risks and take ourselves out of our comfort zone to truly develop our understanding. We also promise, in return, that our staff will be resilient in driving standards and student progress.

Respect is key to success at The Ongar Academy. Staff, Students and Parents are required to show a level of professional respect that would be present within a workplace environment. Kindness is at the centre of respect. We must respect that every person has different challenges to overcome, different strengths and different areas that require dedicated development. A respectful relationship will, not only allow students to feel safe within our school environment, but it allows our teachers to accelerate learning within the classroom.

Integrity is about honesty. We want students to develop an open and honest relationship with our staff. When we know about their struggles, fears and anxieties, we are able to support in a quick and effective manner. Integrity is also about our uncompromising adherence to our moral principles. We will always make decisions based on the best interests of the child. We will always make changes and tweaks to our systems for their benefit.

Our final core value is Community. We are the beating heart of this community. We are passionate about building strong community links, developing a sense of community spirit and being there for our local residents. Our school community itself, is a small but perfectly formed one. Students here gets all the benefits of a secondary education in the comfort and nurturing environment of a small school.

We would welcome you to visit and see our wonderful school in action.

Mr Jonathan Sands BMUS (Hons), MA, NPQH

Headteacher