Our History

Bluecoat Aspley Academy truly began over 300 years ago when the then rector of St Peter’s Church, Timothy Fenton, had the desire “to train poor children in the knowledge of God and religion, as taught in the Church of England.”

Serving only poor children, the first charity school of its kind in Nottingham, classes began to be taught in the porch of St. Mary’s Church. It was here, under the archway of the church, that the first Bluecoat was established, in 1706.

Starting from a modest number of children, Bluecoat has moved sites more than once to accommodate a growing family. It is now a community of over 1400 learners, based on two sites with Bluecoat Aspley Academy (ages 11-16) on Aspley Lane and Bluecoat Sixth Form Academy (ages 16-19) on Maid Marian Way, in the city centre.

From Timothy Fenton’s initial vision, we have grown into a Trust family of ten schools, serving thousands of young people across Nottingham and Derby. As a Church of England Trust, our Christian ethos underpins everything that we do and like Timothy Fenton, we still believe in the transformational power of education.

To learn more about our rich history, please visit our Trust website.