About us

The JCB Academy was established in September 2010, the first of a brand new kind of school in the UK, with a focus on delivering high-quality engineering and business education.

In our purpose-built, state-of-the-art facilities we provide a world class educational experience, which has been specifically designed to ensure young people achieve top grades and develop the key skills essential for success in the world of work. Our mission is "Changing lives by developing the engineers and business leaders of the future".

TThe JCB Academy is sponsored by JCB and, alongside other businesses including Bentley Motors, Bosch Rexroth, Network Rail, Rolls-Royce and Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, they form our Core Challenge Partners who together develop our unique curriculum and learning techniques.

Currently we cater for approximately 700 full time learners aged 14-18 as well as approximately 300 learners aged 16+ following apprenticeships. We have plans to expand further due to the demand for places and we are currently exploring opportunities to grow our offering to include robotics and materials engineering workshops. We are seeking to appoint individuals with a passion for developing engineers of the future. You will be keen to engage learners to achieve their potential by delivering structured, pacey and engaging lessons.

If successful in your application, you will benefit from working in a supportive environment with professionals who are down-to-earth and committed to the aims of the academy. Our facilities are fantastic.

Facilities

The JCB Academy building is a carefully adapted and renovated mill, which (appropriately) was built by the famous industrial entrepreneur and engineer, Richard Arkwright, in the late 18th Century. Facilities as a result are outstanding – if you join us, you will teach in a state-of-the-art educational building ideal for learning in the 21st Century. In addition to the learning areas, we have 12 workshops, fully equipped for work on real-life engineering projects.

The structure of the year and the school day

Teachers at The JCB Academy work for 200 days across the year when on a full time contract. In order to accommodate quality engineering sessions for our learners, the working day is slightly longer than in a traditional school structure; however the teaching commitment works out to be very similar to other schools.

For all staff, the school day runs from Monday to Thursday 8.20am – 5.10pm/ Friday 8.20am – 3.55pm with learners onsite Monday and Friday 8.30am -3.45pm/ Tuesday to Thursday 8.30am-5.00pm/ Wednesday 8.30am-4.00pm. We run a 2 week timetable. Wednesday afternoons from 1.30 pm until the end of the day are dedicated to extension activities for learners; all staff support this and are encouraged to deliver activities which follow their own personal interests – for example, the Principal runs fishing in the summer months and chess in the winter.

Teachers are offered some elements of flexibility - if they are not scheduled to teach for the first or last period of the day they are able to complete PPA time offsite if they prefer, provided there are no other responsibilities scheduled within their timetable. Teaching staff are issued with a laptop to enable flexible working within the academy.

School holidays for most of the year run along the same as local authority standard holidays except for the fact that the summer break is not quite as long - over the summer, there is a 4 week holiday with term restarting in mid-August. October half-term is then over a 2 weeks period which allows staff to take advantage of less expensive holiday bookings if they choose to go away.

If you share our vision for supporting the development of engineers and business leaders of the future we would be keen to hear from you. Should you wish to find out more about working at The JCB Academy, we welcome any questions you might have and would also be happy to accommodate requests to visit the academy on an informal basis.

Visit our main website here

See our Ofsted report here