Big Creative Academy

Big Creative Academy

Big Creative Academy (BCA) is a post-16 free school specialising in the creative industries. We believe that teaching skills employers want and empowering young people to think reflectively enables positive outcomes for students and our wider community. Big Creative Academy is committed to wellbeing and excellent teaching. We have recently had an Ofsted inspection and were judged Grade 2 ‘Good’, with inspectors recognising that the Academy makes a significant difference to the outcomes for young people. We have high expectations of our staff and students and want to be recognised as one of the leading providers of vocational programmes in the creative arts. We are already a DfE best practice school for LGBT+.   

Big Creative Academy opened in September 2014 and have 300 students, aged 16-19, primarily studying Level 3 vocational qualifications. Our students are diverse and challenging and ultimately extremely rewarding to work with. Our study programmes specialise in music, fashion, media, gaming, events, performing arts as well as GCSE Maths and English.   The Academy is lively! We are well connected with industry and all of our teaching staff have industry experience. We also have industry ambassadors from companies such as MTV, ITN, Barcroft Media and Island Records and experts are kind enough to provide masterclasses for students. Our focus on skills, wellbeing and networks gives our students the edge in a competitive marketplace.     

The Team  

Sacha Corcoran MBE is Principal of the Academy, an inspiring self-made woman involved in education for over 20 years. She has brought together a small outstanding team who are committed to the vision and ethos of the Academy. There are three senior managers, 17 teaching staff and ten in business support. Our team are high achievers and have interesting and diverse backgrounds. Many are have their own creative careers as musicians, actors, producers and fashion designers and all have a passion for creativity.   

Some of the benefits of working at Big Creative Academy  

Big Creative Academy has a Wellbeing Manifesto promoting positive relationships, resilience and reflection which extends to staff as well as students. We want our team to be productive and happy. 

The Academy provides the following benefits:   

• A staff wellbeing day 
• Admin days built into the academic year 
• An individual CPD plan to bring out your brilliance 
• Teaching, learning and assessment groups to share best practice and try new teaching techniques 
• Opportunities to learn from your creative colleagues, for example, learning how to DJ, sew, improve your photoshop skills
• An employee assistance line for people to talk through difficulties confidentially, with solutions often offered to partners
• Full pension benefits in either the Teachers Pension Scheme or Local Government Pension Scheme.