The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Leadership switch for city school
Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson ‘cautiously welcomes’ the the school’s fortunes around. By Stephen Briggs
A new trust has taken over the running of troubled Peter borough school The Voyager Academy. MP Stewart Jackson said the change represented a “lastchance’’ fortheschool.
Anew trust has taken over the running of one of the most t r oubled schools in Peter- borough.
The Voyager Academy, which has been run by the Cam Academy Trust( formerly known as Comb er ton Academy Trust ), will nowberunby the Thomas Deacon Academy Education Trust.
The Voyager opened in Mounsteven Avenue in 2007, and had been placed in special measures by Ofsted in 2014 following poor exam results.
The school was taken out of special measures last year, and is now graded as‘ requires improvement.’
However, only 23 per cent of youngsters at The Voyager Academy scored A*-C grades in English and maths last year.
Staff and pupils at The Voyager have been working in partnership with Thomas Deacon Academy this academic year.
Scott Hudson, Principal of The Voyager Academy, said it ‘was in the best interests’ of the school to work with the Thomas Deacon Academy.
He said: “The Voyager Academy has made significant progress in recent months and the local partnership model has really demonstrated the advantages of neighbouring schools working together, sharing resources and experience.
“We, along with our existing sponsors – Cam Academy Trust – have been exploring a number of options for strengthening this relationship to ensure continued improvement for our pupils.
“After careful consideration, we have decided that it is now in the best long-term interests of the Academy to formalise this working partnership and transfer our sponsorship to the Thomas Deacon Academy Education Trust (TDAET) from January 2017.”
Thomas Deacon Academy Education Trust was established in January 2016 to allow Thomas Deacon Academy and its Junior College to work in a formal partnership with other schools in the Peterborough area.
The Trust is already working with a number of local schools in an advisory capacity including supporting Gladstone Primary School’ s interim executive board while it formalises its plans to become a sponsored academy.
The primary school is also expected to join the Thomas Deacon Academy Education Trust from February after its governing body was disbanded following an inadequate Ofsted report earlier this year.
Julie Taylor, Chief Execu- tive of Thomas Deacon Academy Education Trust, said she hoped the take over of Voyager would benefit pupils at both schools.
She said: “We are delighted to cement our relationship with The Voyager Academy. We have been very impressed by the improvements that have been made, particularly under the leadership of Scott Hudson who will continue as Principal. We are very clear that this will be a mutually beneficial partnership.
“We can share our experience to support The Voyager Academy in its journey to be- coming a Good school, but we can also learn from the good practice at The Voyager Academy, notably the highly successful sixth form.
“The partnership will help to improve outcomes for all pupils.”
As part of the takeover, a consultation will be held looking at renaming and rebranding the school.
Stephen Munday, Chief Executive of Cam Academy Trust, added: “We are pleased to see that the changes we have implemented and partnerships we have formed have brought about long-term improvements at The Voyager Academy as demonstrated in the last Ofsted monitoring inspection. The partnership with Thomas Deacon Academy has had a positive impact in a short space of time and formalising this partnership will help continue to improve outcomes for all pupils.”
Parents will have the opportunity to find out more about the Trust, its ambitions and its values at drop-in sessions during the next few weeks.