Grange’s academy plan in the pipeline
ARUNCORN school is to convert to an academy under the auspices of a high-flying nationally renowned Widnes secondary.
The Grange will come under the wing of Wade Deacon education trust once conversion is completed. Town hall bosses are due to sign off the next steps on Thursday, July 20, at an executive board meeting at Widnes’s Municipal Building.
These include the appointment of the law firm Freeths and the delegation of decision-making authority to Ann McIntyre, operational director for education, for tasks such as land lease, principal agreement and com- ● mercial transfer.
The Grange School teaches age groups from nursery age through to GCSE phase and was built under a private finance initiative (PFI) arrangement meaning investors provided the up-front cash and this will be paid back by the public sector plus interest over 25 years between 2013 and 2038.
A report published ahead of the meeting said Wade Deacon Trust and The Grange School will need to cover costs incurred by Halton Council.
Any deficits remain with the local authority after conversion with any surplus passed to the academy.
Halton Council said it received an academy order from the Secretary Of State in October 2016.
Education watchdog Ofsted last inspected the school in September, when it graded The Grange as ‘requires improvement’ but noted improvements since 2013 and ‘increased confidence’ that it would be graded ‘good’ at the next visit.
In 2016’s GCSEs, The Grange missed the Government progress target of -0.5 with a score of -0.61.
For eight key subjects, it achieved an attainment score of 45.2, way behind former Times Education Supplement secondary school of the year Wade Deacon on 54.4.
At Wade Deacon, 76% of GCSE pupils achieved a grade C or better in English and maths.
The Grange trailed way behind on 44% – the lowest score in the borough other than Sandymoor Free School, whose GCSE pupils had joined part way through their schooling making a full comparison not possible, and Ashley High special school.