Prime Highlights-
- North Oxfordshire Academy becomes the first Oxfordshire school to win the national Character Education Quality Mark for outstanding character education.
- Association for Character Education praises the academy’s focus on building personal qualities alongside academic success across curriculum and school life.
Key Facts-
- Character education runs through the curriculum, extracurricular activities and wider school life at the academy.
- Annual Futures Fair connects students with employers, education providers and apprenticeship providers for career guidance.
Background-
North Oxfordshire Academy (NOA) in Banbury has become the first school in Oxfordshire to earn the Character Education Quality Mark from the Association for Character Education.
The academy earned praise from the Association for Character Education for its clear priority on character education, and the accreditation honors its pledge to develop personal qualities next to academic achievement.
Assessors commended the school for weaving character education into its curriculum, extracurricular activities and wider school life. Their report called character education a bedrock foundation of the academy.
Principal Ellie Jacobs said the school feels incredibly proud of the achievement. She said developing character sits at the heart of the academy’s work, because staff want students to leave with far more than strong exam results.
Jacobs said the school aims to give students confidence to seize new opportunities, ambition to aim high, respect to contribute positively to their communities and determination to keep going.
The award came as the academy held its annual Futures Fair, which brought education and apprenticeship providers and local employers together with students to discuss career pathways.
Jacobs called the fair a strong example of this approach in action. She said it encourages young people to think about their goals, speak confidently with employers and education providers, and see the exciting possibilities ahead of them.
