The Baverstock Academy (formerly Baverstock Foundation School and Specialist Sports College) was a mixed secondary school and sixth form college, located on the southern edge of the Birmingham outer city ward of Druids Heath.
The then headteacher, Mr Roger Perks, started with a newly formed school but only 26 applicants for 150 places in the first year's intake.
Mr Perks focused on the pressures the students were facing in their social and family life, which led to programmes like a breakfast club, which was seen as radical in the early 1980s (and which he had first used at Ladywood School a decade before).
The school received recognition from 10 Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister, for its provisions and investment in physical education as one of the nation's top sports colleges.
On 30 June 2016, LEAP Academy Trust announced plans to close the school within the next twelve months, subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Education.
Maypole was one of the worst failing schools in the country and was described at the time as "having the greatest number of referrals to social services of any part of any city in Europe".
The students of Baverstock School raised a large amount of money (by means of a concert) for a memorial to him.
The investigation came to the conclusion of "serious allegations of financial irregularity and governance" at the school between August and September and sought improvement by December 2015.
In July 2020, under section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the education secretary Gavin Williamson gave a direction prohibiting a person from taking part in the management of an independent school on prescribed grounds connected with the person's suitability.
Baverstock's sixth form was part of the master plan set out by then head teacher Roger Perks, to secure the future success of the school within the community.
On 5 February 2016 the governing body of the school announced the suspending of the Sixth Form for the 2016–2017 academic year.
[15] LEAP (Learn, engage, Achieve and Progress) was a behaviour support centre that was designed to help with exclusions at the school, which had traditionally been very high.
Its purpose was to support students with behaviour issues and to ultimately reduce the exclusion rate.
The centre was, initially, very labour-intensive with money being spent on providing a new self-contained area from the rest of the main school to put focus on the students.
[citation needed] In 2013–14, 100% of the students who attended the Baverstock Academy achieved the top GCSE grades.
[citation needed] In August 2014, LEAP was the subject of a BBC Panorama programme Last Chance Academy, which highlighted the school's success with disruptive students.