A BRADFORD-BASED academy chain has welcomed the tenth school into its group with the launch of the new Dixons Cottingley Academy.

Dixons Academies Trust took over the school, formerly Samuel Lister Academy, on Cottingley New Road, on July 1.

In its last Ofsted inspection, the school was rated as inadequate.

At the helm of the new academy is principal Clare Skelding, the former principal of Feversham College, described by Dixons as a school that consistently ranked as one of the best in Bradford.

She said: “We are very excited about the future of Dixons Cottingley and about working with students and staff to promote and embed our values of determination, integrity, and trust.

“We want to create a high-achieving school, where students are proud to be part of Dixons Cottingley and leave here with the right tools to be successful and lead purposeful lives.”

Shirley Watson, who has served as principal at Dixons City Academy for seven years, has been named as executive principal.

Cottingley becomes the ninth Dixons school in the Bradford district, and last year, the group opened its first school in Leeds, modelled on Dixons Trinity Academy.

The trust has also confirmed the site for its new sixth form, its first post-16 offering.

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The new academy will open in Douglas Mill, on Bowling Old Lane, on a neighbouring site to the group’s flagship school, Dixons City Academy.

The sixth form opens in September 2019 and will offer 360 places to Year 12 students in its first year, with the aim of increasing capacity to 440 each year from 2020.

Dixons states the new academy will offer extra-curricular electives alongside traditional subjects, to ensure that students receive a “well-balanced and diverse post-16 education”.

Wesley Davies, who will act as the school’s executive principal, said: “This is an exciting time in our development as a trust as we open our first academy exclusively committed to high-quality post-16 education.

“The new sixth form will be the pinnacle of a Dixons education.”