Free school set to join academy trust

A RUNCORN free school is due to join an academies trust this December following a period of uncertainty.

Sally Jones, Sandymoor School principal, said it is now hoped the secondary will become part of the Ormiston Academies Trust.

If approved, the move could mark the end of two years of hardship.

In May 2018 the school was blasted by Ofsted as ‘inadequate’, triggering an overhaul of its staff and governance and leading to warnings that it may have its funding pulled amid criticism that its GCSE results had been ‘among the worst nationally’ in 2016 and 2017.

Education troubleshooters were set to work and the school is now looking to put its troubled era behind it.

The new found optimism follows this summer’s record GCSE exam results, which Sandymoor also hailed as the most improved in Halton, with the number of pupils scoring grade 5 or above in maths and English up by 16%, and progress rising by more than half a grade point in most subjects, and some stand-out individual successes.

Tuesday Humby, Ormiston Academies Trust troubleshooting supremo, said: “The new principal Sally Jones has galvanised and transformed Sandymoor. Ably supported by an extremely committed governing body and a very loyal staff, it is a school that will continue to go from strength to strength.

“We look forward to continue being part of its journey.”

She added: “It is a wonderful and incredible turnaround for the school, which only a year ago was threatened with closure.

“However, under the leadership of the newly appointed principal Sally Jones, chair of governors Bryan Jones and support from Ormiston Academies Trust, Sandymoor looks poised to make good on its promise to become one of the top performing schools in the North West, in record time.”

Sally Jones, principal, said: “The community have really got behind the school and the changes that have been made and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their faith and their support.”

Sandymoor School opened as a ‘free school’ in 2012 and was later visited by the then-Prime Minister David Cameron during his 2015 General Election campaign.