The Cedars Academy

The Cedars Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Birstall, a suburban village directly outside of Leicester city, England.HistoryThe school opened in 1959 as the Longslade Grammar School, which became a comprehensive in 1968.Longslade was created at a time of innovation in Leicestershire with regard to education. Leicestershire had created what was to be known as the Leicestershire Plan. Education authorities are not renowned from learning from each other but Leicestershire received delegations from half of the other authorities in England as well as attention from the USA to see the novel changes in Educational policy that they introduced.The school population in Leicestershire was expanding. In 1948 there were just under 44,000 children in Leicestershire but this had expanded to over 72,000 by 1968. This was not just population growth but movement from Leicester to the outlying suburbs like Oadby, Wigston and included in this list was Birstall. The county was setting out on what was to be known as the Leicestershire plan for comprehensive education. Where other schools in England were converting existing grammar schools and secondary modern schools to comprehensive education by changing their intake, Leicestershire decided to change the age of entry. Some schools were converted into what they called high schools that served ages 11 to 14 whilst others were converted into upper schools that educated children from age 14 to 18. This idea had been tried out experimentally in Oadby and Wigston in 1957 and the second phase was in 1960 taking in high schools in Scraptoft (Hamilton High), Thurmaston and with both a high and upper school on the new site between Birstall and Wanlip.