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Tollbar Takes The Fast Track
June 24th, 2010
The principal of Tollbar Business, Enterprise and Humanities College has expressed his delight that the school will become an academy within months.
David Hampson told the Grimsby Telegraph that the college would accept an invitation to be fast-tracked to an academy by September 1.
Under proposed legislation outlined in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday 25 May, secondary schools rated "outstanding" by Ofsted will be given the chance to become academies, giving them greater freedom from local authority control.
The news was also welcomed by the principal of Havelock Academy, Nick O'Sullivan, who described how greater independence, a reduction in bureaucracy and increased engagement with parents - features associated with academies – had driven up standards at the school.
Mr Hampson, who will be taking up the position of chief executive of Tollbar Edge, sponsors of the new Cleethorpes Academy, which is also opening in September, said: "The freedom associated with being an academy is something we have always aspired to.
"I and my governing body firmly believe the college should have this freedom to use its outstanding expertise to be self-determining over the key issues in educational advancement for all students.
"We feel this approach has the greatest impact on pupil performance, in meeting the needs of individual students and ultimately delivering value for money from the education budget."
Mr O'Sullivan said: Academies have always worked in the most-deprived communities. Broadening that to schools more generally to allow thoughtful heads to innovate and make improvements is obviously a good thing."
He said academies had succeeded by adopting the ethos of private fee-paying schools - where Mr O'Sullivan worked before taking up the principal's post at Havelock.
"He said: "Independent schools have a record that is globally recognised. So the notion that you would bring independent school values into this setting in order to give opportunities to children that they wouldn’t otherwise have, is deeply attractive."
Article from The Grimsby Telegraph - Thursday May 27th 2010
