Whitburn Church of England Academy

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Whitburn Church of England Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Whitburn, South Tyneside. Its motto is "Excellence for all". The academy was known as Whitburn Comprehensive School before moving and receiving major upgrades funded by the Church of England. It has specialist status in maths and computing and is a national teaching school.

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Whitburn, Tyne and Wear

Whitburn is a village in South Tyneside, in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear on the coast of North East England. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the city of Sunderland and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the town of South Shields. Historically, Whitburn is part of County Durham. Other nearby population centres include Seaburn, Cleadon and Marsden. The village lies on a south-facing slope, part of Durham's Magnesian Limestone plateau, which overlooks Sunderland. The population for the combined Whitburn and Marsden Ward in the 2011 UK Census was 7,448. For much of its history, Whitburn was a fishing and agricultural community. The village contains three schools, three churches, a cricket club, recreational grounds, a pub and a variety of shops.

Whitburn Lifeboat Station

Whitburn Lifeboat Station was located at the lower end of Sea Lane, to the south of Whitburn, a village 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Sunderland, on the coast of the county of Tyne and Wear. A lifeboat was first stationed at Whitburn in 1818, by the Sunderland Lifeboat Committee (SLC). Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854. After 100 years service, Whitburn Lifeboat Station closed at the end of April, 1918.

Seaburn

Seaburn is a seaside resort and northeastern suburb of Sunderland, North East England. The village of Whitburn borders the area to the north. To the west and south-west is Fulwell and to the south the coastal resort of Roker. Virtually all of Seaburn consists of low-density private housing interspersed with open parkland, laid out in the middle of the 20th century. Much of the housing is amongst the most expensive in Sunderland, with many large mansion houses situated along the coast, and on adjoining streets. The seafront is home to a sandy blue flag beach, seaside promenades, two amusement arcades, children's playgrounds, fish and chip shops, small guest houses and two 4 star hotels, The Grand Hotel and the Seaburn Inn. The main shopping street is Sea Road, which runs from the seafront up through Fulwell to the Seaburn Metro station. The area around Queens Parade hosts a 'strip' of restaurants, with three Italian, two Indian and two Chinese restaurants in operation as of 2009. Also trading are several pubs and coffee shops. In the late 1980s, the old Seaburn Hall site was redeveloped, with a Morrisons supermarket, new amusement park and leisure and fitness centre. Previously, Seaburn Hall had been a dance hall and live music venue. It was built in 1939 as part of a development scheme which also included the seafront and a funfair. Seaburn was a favourite place of the painter L. S. Lowry. A large Lowry painting is displayed in the local Morrisons supermarket. The area was close to the Sunderland A.F.C. stadium Roker Park and was the origin of the hooligan firm the Seaburn Casuals. The Sunderland International Airshow was held on the coast at Seaburn and Roker and was the largest free event of its kind in Europe, with a variety of aircraft, civilian and military aircraft on display. On the Tyne and Wear Metro Seaburn is served by its own station. The suburb is part of the Fulwell ward on Sunderland City Council, and is represented by three Conservative councillors.

Academy of Light

The Academy of Light is the name of the UEFA five star certified training facilities and youth academy for English football club Sunderland A.F.C. Officially opened in March 2003, the Academy of Light is a state-of-the-art training facility in Cleadon - just north of Sunderland. It covers an area of 220 acres (0.89 km2) of which 60 acres dedicated to football. It replaced the aging Charlie Hurley Centre, located nearby. The site is used as the primary training facility for the first team, but is also used to train the youngsters in Sunderland's U23 and U18 teams, it's the location of Sunderland's U18 home games, and is also the home of Sunderland A.F.C. Ladies. The academy plans were the focus of protests from local residents who were angered at the development on a green belt. After withdrawing initial ambitious plans, the club submitted new plans in 1999 which were rejected by South Tyneside Council. Following a public inquiry, Sunderland launched a successful appeal, and work began on the academy in 2001. Before building work was complete, Sunderland submitted plans for expansion to the site, to include indoor training facilities, which The Football Association had added to the list of necessary facilities for academies to achieve Category 1 status. Plans were rejected, and a further appeal was also rejected, meaning Sunderland were forced to use a disused ice rink in Sunderland City Centre for indoor training. Indoor facilities were finally added to the Academy of Light in an expansion completed in 2012. The initial site cost over £10 million to build, with the indoor training facility expansion costing an extra £3m.