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Venerable Bede Church of England Academy
Secondary · Academy · Sunderland
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Poor school in all area
School is poor in all fronts staff failure to care or support student. School does not follow its own policies nor does it get back to concerns and worries that been raises. It dismisses the concern and places worries on calibre of students from the local community. Example teacher advised that the behaviour in the school was reflection of the local community and therefore out of their control. The Leadership lacks the ability to lead, school is just so poor in all area. I could go on and on with a deleted account of how poor the school. However would like to say that there are pockets of good individuals who just let down by the leadership.
Definitely has room for improvement
The accessibility for disability is great however it takes a while for any access arrangements to be sorted. Food is average but an alright price. Teachers vary from amazing teachers that really help students to learn to teachers that are horrendous and scream at students. The main issue is that nobody is allowed to go to the toilet during classes unless they have a toilet pass. This is detrimental as it is against human rights and can cause incidents in class that could have been prevented. The communication between staff is terrible and i would definitely say if you have a problem that it may take a while for all teachers to be informed if they are at all. On the plus side this school has really good facilities like computers and a gym and good science equipment for practicals.
Mental health after experiencing this school
Just don't go here.
The bullying is so terrible here that I left on my last year. The only thing I learnt from going to this school is that people see me and think I look like a good target. Students are mainly rude and don't follow any rules. Teachers mostly seem to not care about wellbeing of students even if they see an example of bullying right before their eyes.
Not very supportive of mental health, will force you out of their quiet room for people struggling if there is "too many" inside even if you have special agreements between members of staff.
Not very welcoming towards cultural, religious or other forms of diversity.
Terrible environment both indoor and outdoor. Hallways are extremely busy a lot of the time, very loud and genuinely terrifying. Alarming amount of fights between students, one of the (actually nice and good) teachers got badly hurt for a very long time because they had to break up a fight.
Never felt safe there, hid in bathrooms at lunch and break times, which are both short. Plus, people would always shout at me when I locked myself in the stall, banged their hands on the stall door, tried to unlock the door, threw stuff over the top (frozen heavy waterbottles, full soggy toilet rolls, etc.).
Poor quality food, smells so bad I had to hold my breath when walking past the place the food was prepared and sold. Won't let students take unfinished drinks out of the lunch room, which they paid for and may only have that one drink for around 2-3 more hours.
I don't even think I need to elaborate on the mandatory sports we have to do for Physical "Education". All I learnt from sports is that they are extremely painful and should be optional, not everyone can wash their extremely dirty, muddy clothes for Cross Country 2-3 times a week. Cross Country, the timed race that left me covered in mud and so out of breath, I was about to faint. Whilst the PE teachers just sat there doing nothing but telling people to hurry up, whilst holding a stopwatch in their hand. Great way of setting an example by doing nothing for a whole hour whilst I'm about to be sick.
This school is extremely challenging,
in the wrong ways. No further comment.
Personal Development. If by that you mean the lesson, PD, it's terrible. Learnt nothing apart from that my form, is filled with chavvy sociopaths who think I'm a joke. If you mean how this school helped me personally develop, it's also terrible. I regret going here because I'm miserable, and this school and it's inhabitants are a big reason why.
Take this as a compelling reason, to avoid this hellscape at all costs. Please.
Not very supportive of mental health, will force you out of their quiet room for people struggling if there is "too many" inside even if you have special agreements between members of staff.
Not very welcoming towards cultural, religious or other forms of diversity.
Terrible environment both indoor and outdoor. Hallways are extremely busy a lot of the time, very loud and genuinely terrifying. Alarming amount of fights between students, one of the (actually nice and good) teachers got badly hurt for a very long time because they had to break up a fight.
Never felt safe there, hid in bathrooms at lunch and break times, which are both short. Plus, people would always shout at me when I locked myself in the stall, banged their hands on the stall door, tried to unlock the door, threw stuff over the top (frozen heavy waterbottles, full soggy toilet rolls, etc.).
Poor quality food, smells so bad I had to hold my breath when walking past the place the food was prepared and sold. Won't let students take unfinished drinks out of the lunch room, which they paid for and may only have that one drink for around 2-3 more hours.
I don't even think I need to elaborate on the mandatory sports we have to do for Physical "Education". All I learnt from sports is that they are extremely painful and should be optional, not everyone can wash their extremely dirty, muddy clothes for Cross Country 2-3 times a week. Cross Country, the timed race that left me covered in mud and so out of breath, I was about to faint. Whilst the PE teachers just sat there doing nothing but telling people to hurry up, whilst holding a stopwatch in their hand. Great way of setting an example by doing nothing for a whole hour whilst I'm about to be sick.
This school is extremely challenging,
in the wrong ways. No further comment.
Personal Development. If by that you mean the lesson, PD, it's terrible. Learnt nothing apart from that my form, is filled with chavvy sociopaths who think I'm a joke. If you mean how this school helped me personally develop, it's also terrible. I regret going here because I'm miserable, and this school and it's inhabitants are a big reason why.
Take this as a compelling reason, to avoid this hellscape at all costs. Please.
Year 6/7
Horrendous School; Horrendous Culture
Do t send your child here - unless you want them severely bullied, ignored and academically neglected.
Not very good school
Awful school. Pupils are not supported and the bullying is horrid! They have won a anti bullying award however this isn't a real reflection of the school. Fights always happen and the school do nothing about it. Teaching is poor and the teachers are awful. Food is ok and not too expensive, limited space to sit outside. Place is full of litter and full of plastic items. The Office team are no help if you have questions. Most equipment around the school is broken and the toilets are disgusting. You can't even flush the toilet. There is no soap in the toilets and they are always dirty. Detentions have been issued with no warning and people often missed medical appointments because teachers did not compromise.
Very good disabled access.
X2 lifts and ramps aroud the school.
Very good disabled access.
X2 lifts and ramps aroud the school.
Absaloutley Terrible
The school is on a spiralling end to disaster.
People do not social distancing and teachers can not control the students.
Fights are always happening causing disruption then the year that the pupils are from get shouted at event hough there are not involved and it is an unsafe school as no social distancing happens causing the cases to rise in the school and country.
People do not social distancing and teachers can not control the students.
Fights are always happening causing disruption then the year that the pupils are from get shouted at event hough there are not involved and it is an unsafe school as no social distancing happens causing the cases to rise in the school and country.
Definitely a school to consider.
In terms of equipment and resources available, this school is exceptional. There are plenty of computers with useful software, and they have been updated recently. In PE, there is a fitness suite with high-quality gym equipment for exercise, and tennis, football, and rugby courts. Science classes are equipped with a variety of apparatus for practical work such as chemicals, electricity generators, Bunsen burners and a vacuum chamber. The music department has everything needed: keyboards and other instruments, and computers with Sibelius and headphones. Venerable Bede clearly spends their money well.
Learning is made easy with step-by-step lessons with generous student interaction, and regular tests to help retain information. Despite most students' dislike for homework, it can be kept track of easily via an app for both parents and students, a replacement for the effort of paper planners. 2-week timetables are given to everyone at school so they know where they need to be at what time, and new ones can be found at the office if lost. Personal Development lessons are designed to teach real-world skills for one hour a week.
One of the best qualities of Venerable Bede is its diversity. There has been excellent support for LGBTQ+, bullied and disabled pupils, and although this is a Christian school, all religions are accepted and respected.
Unfortunately, like every secondary school, negatives come. The meals are of cheap quality and there is sometimes not much left after the first few sittings. A minority of teachers, particularly supply teachers, are disrespectful to students and do not seem to care. The school mainly keeps track of learning in behaviour points, which are often given in excess, drowning out significant achievements. Negative points may be given for incorrect/missing equipment (e.g. pens) or uniform (e.g. tie, face mask). Students are also given "attitude to learning" scores on their reports, which likely causes unnecessary stress for some. Outdoors, problems have been experienced with the fizzy drinks sold at school, such as squirting or throwing them at people, or pouring them into the grass.
Learning is made easy with step-by-step lessons with generous student interaction, and regular tests to help retain information. Despite most students' dislike for homework, it can be kept track of easily via an app for both parents and students, a replacement for the effort of paper planners. 2-week timetables are given to everyone at school so they know where they need to be at what time, and new ones can be found at the office if lost. Personal Development lessons are designed to teach real-world skills for one hour a week.
One of the best qualities of Venerable Bede is its diversity. There has been excellent support for LGBTQ+, bullied and disabled pupils, and although this is a Christian school, all religions are accepted and respected.
Unfortunately, like every secondary school, negatives come. The meals are of cheap quality and there is sometimes not much left after the first few sittings. A minority of teachers, particularly supply teachers, are disrespectful to students and do not seem to care. The school mainly keeps track of learning in behaviour points, which are often given in excess, drowning out significant achievements. Negative points may be given for incorrect/missing equipment (e.g. pens) or uniform (e.g. tie, face mask). Students are also given "attitude to learning" scores on their reports, which likely causes unnecessary stress for some. Outdoors, problems have been experienced with the fizzy drinks sold at school, such as squirting or throwing them at people, or pouring them into the grass.
Covid Measures
I have 2 children in this school and unfortunately currently I do NOT believe the school is doing everything they can to keep pupils safe. My pupils have been off 5 times each time back to back with possitive cases. I am also aware the school went with a "do it without any teacher support" approach this means they have not had any help in the past month. Also the pupils only get 20mins for lunch which is not enough time to chill and eat your food.However on the other hand on a normal day without covid the school is very good place.
Average school.
Very average school but some teachers aren’t great and the quality of work is average too. There’s a good selection for meals on dinner times for anyone who does not take pack lunches. Additionally, the support wasn’t the greatest and that should be improved.
Lesson Time
Great School, however teachers do not allow children to go to the toilet in lesson times and this causes children to feel very uncomfortable. If children say they are Desperate to go they SHOULD be allowed. Also children get behaviour points for the smallest of things, such as not having a pen. Another thing is teachers keep students back on the day that they give a call back which should not be allowed, it should be another day as I worry when my child is late home
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