Alford Academy

Alford is a mediocre school at best, while there are some stand out staff and facilities, the environment cultivated by some staff and students (notably SLT) can make Alford a very difficult school to learn at. I think especially for those with special needs. Special needs children are pretty much isolated from their peers and aren’t being taught anything of any substance. The staff try their best but there’s no special education teacher available. This means that most time is dedicated to preventing special needs students from disrupting the rest of the students instead of teaching them skills for life.

While, most departments are very strong in Alford notably the humanities and English departments the maths department is struggling at the expense of the students. Whether you do well in class is highly dependent on which teacher you have. Most of the time learning is self-led which is beneficial to some students but it can make it near impossible for those who are struggling to catch up.

Another department that has struggled is the art department. One of two of the art teachers left the school and in their place was a substitute who didn’t know the course which resulted in students falling behind and most failing their prelims

There have been a number of strange rules implemented in the school due to previous year groups. For example, during this year’s study leave and continuing forward students were prohibited from using the study areas provided (such as the S6 study area where the sign has been conveniently removed from the window) which makes it really difficult to revise during school as everyone has to revise in an overpopulated library. Which has an affect on the local community as well because other year groups, the primary school and Alford locals aren’t able to take advantage of the community facilities.

Another issue from SLT is to do with uniform. Whilst there is an issue with pupils not wearing the correct uniform or just not wearing it at all, the way this has been both enforced and prioritised other the many other issues facing Alford Academy has been harmful for the school. One such uniform rule was that pupils were not allowed to have and form of headphones on while walking. This is fair for most students except for those with sensory issues as the tight hallways of Alford are loud and can be overstimulating for some. This only punishes those who already wear uniform as the people who this rule is meant to target just won’t care. The biggest issue with the uniform policies is the fact that more time is dedicated to making sure the school looks functional than is functional. There have been serious issues with mental health and bullying that haven’t had nearly the same amount of time and effort dedicated too than the uniform policies.

Overall, Alford Academy is a varied school that has its disadvantages and advantages. I would say compared to others it’s not the worst school for your child to attend but you should be wary of what’s happening with their education and overall environment because of the reasons listed above.

Alford Community Campus is an Alright school but there is a lot of bullying and such and I think the teachers treat special needs kids better than the usual ones like letting them go on walks and such. I also think some teachers are too hard on some of the kids for no reason. The food is alright but a bit expensive.

Overall good school. Some issues with queue jumpers not being punished, and an unnecessary ban on snowball fights, but aside from that, it’s a good school. There are additional issues with some students loudly using slurs in class and not being punished for it, but this is largely outweighed by some of Alford Academy’s positive qualities like the variety of sports equipment, and elective classes.