Newsletter
Issue Six
Eastgate Academy is ‘outstanding’ in all areas
Chief Executive’s Welcome
I would firstly like to introduce myself as the new chief executive of the trust. Many of you will know me from my former role as director of education at the trust since 2014 but I was appointed chief executive in January 2017 and even in this short space of time there have been considerable developments within the trust. I am writing to let you know about some important changes that are happening to our trust. The College of West Anglia founded the trust and has acted as sponsor for the last 7 years. On the 21st March, at the trust board meeting, the college decided that the time was right to withdraw its sponsorship and to allow the trust to proceed as an independent body. The college has therefore withdrawn from its role as sponsor of the trust. We are currently working through the necessary legal arrangements to formalise this process and expect this to take a matter of weeks. For the academies within the trust there will be very little change on a dayto-day basis. In essence what will happen is that the original founders of the trust (who are called members) will resign and new members will be appointed. The new members will choose a new name for the trust and appoint a new board of directors. • All academies within the trust will continue operationally as normal
• Upwell Academy • North Wootton Academy • Emneth Academy These academies will be our West Norfolk Hub. Many of you will know that it is likely that Downham Market Academy may move to another trust during the course of the next year. In addition to the West Norfolk Hub, we have been asked by the Regional Schools Commissioner to set up and run an additional hub in Thetford. This is likely to start with three primary schools and grow to around six. We have carefully considered the challenges and opportunities that come with setting up a new hub and feel confident that we have the strength and capacity to help play an important role in improving life chances for children attending schools in Thetford. We have no current plans to expand further, but will consider the potential for other hubs in due course.
• All staff within the academies will be unaffected by the change • Your pay and conditions will stay the same. Our proposed new name is the Eastern Academies Trust but we are interested to hear from you if you have any alternative suggestions. Please e-mail me via lois.hyland@cwaacademytrust.co.uk at the trust offices if you have any ideas. Next Steps
I will be taking the opportunity to review the central team to ensure that we have the capacity to drive the educational improvements that I wish to see and secondly that we have the right school improvement and operational support structures in place to make this happen. These changes will be developed over the coming months. On behalf of our new trust I would like to thank the College of West Anglia for its vision and commitment in taking the trust to where it is today. I would also like to thank the many CWA staff for the countless hours they have given freely to support the growth of our academies.
The current academies within the trust will continue as they are: • King’s Lynn Academy • Downham Market Academy
However we now look forward to an exciting independent future and working closely with you to develop an organisation that is passionate about providing education of the highest quality.
• Nelson Academy
I wish you all a happy and relaxing Easter break.
• Eastgate Academy
Kind regards
• Southery Academy
Dr. Duncan Ramsey Chief Executive
Colleagues,
The trust is planning to take on additional primary schools in the near future and to expand beyond West Norfolk. We feel, therefore, that now is an appropriate time for CWA to withdraw and allow the trust to develop further in this direction.
• King Edward VII Academy
As you will be aware from Duncan’s message in this newsletter, CWA has decided to withdraw from its role as sponsor of the trust. I realise this may come as a surprise to many of you, particularly to staff in academies who have been part of the trust for a longer period of time. The College of West Anglia founded the trust in 2010 with the main purpose of supporting the development of education and the life chances of the young people of West Norfolk. Over the past six years we have helped it to grow from a single secondary academy into a multi-academy trust which supports three secondary and six primary academies. Although there is still much work to be done to improve outcomes in the secondary phase, the trust has had some fantastic success in the primary academies, including the notable recent Ofsted judgements for Eastgate and Nelson academies. CWA’s involvement with the trust has always been focused on supporting young people and schools in the West Norfolk area and we can offer particular expertise and experience in supporting transition to post-16 education.
CWA Academy Trust | Newsletter
CWA is proud to have been involved so closely with the growth and success of the trust and its individual academies and we will continue to work closely together, particularly in supporting transition from school at 16. On behalf of my CWA colleagues, I would like to thank you for your support over the years and I wish you and all trust staff every success in the next stage of its development. Best wishes, David Pomfret Principal, College of West Anglia
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Upwell & North Wootton join CWA Academy Trust
Upwell Academy and North Wootton Academy officially opened as the latest primary schools to join CWA Academy Trust, on Wednesday 1st March 2017. Upwell Academy has more than 170 students on roll and was graded good by Ofsted in its last inspection in 2013. The new logo reflects the Upwell bridge, located in the centre of the village, symbolising the community spirit of the school. Acting principal Haidee Norman said: “We have the opportunity to turn our good school, under the guidance of CWA Academy Trust, into an outstanding one. Recent Ofsted results for other primary academies within the Trust have only confirmed that our decision to join the Trust was indeed the correct one for our school. Collaboration with academies which have such high expectations and results can only be of benefit to our children and their learning, and our community. The staff are excited to begin this new chapter and we look forward to an exciting future.” Situated on the outskirts of King’s Lynn, North Wootton Academy currently has over 300 students on roll. Its new logo is an evolution of the school’s previous identities and features the sunbeams seen in the village sign. Principal Jonathan Williams said: “We are really pleased to have joined CWA Academy Trust today. The school has benefited informally in terms of advice and support from the Trust, for the past two years, so I am delighted that we will be able to build on this support in the future.
CWA Academy Trust | Newsletter
“This is a very exciting time for North Wootton Academy and I am optimistic about the opportunities this partnership will bring.” Chief executive, Dr. Duncan Ramsey, said: “Following the recent successes achieved by our primary academies, we are really pleased to welcome Upwell Academy and North Wootton Academy to the CWA Academy Trust family. Upwell is a lovely school with an excellent set of staff and supportive parents, whilst North Wootton lies at the heart of its community and has a wealth of strengths it brings to the group. The Trust will work closely with the local governing body to support both academies on their journey to becoming outstanding at the earliest opportunity.”
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Eastgate Academy is ‘outstanding’ in all areas
We are delighted to announce that Eastgate Academy, following a recent Ofsted inspection, has been graded “outstanding” in all areas, stating that “pupils receive both an outstanding academic education and highly effective support for their emotional well-being”. This achievement is even more notable given that its last Ofsted inspection, before converting to an academy as part of the CWA Academy Trust, placed Eastgate Primary School in special measures. It is a very rare occurrence for a school to go from special measures to outstanding in consecutive inspections. Up until now there were only six schools (open and operating) in the country who have made that leap. Eastgate is the first school in Norfolk to have achieved it.
most recent residential trip was to Cheddar Gorge and we’ve also recently taken the students to Ely and Cambridge on the train.” Chief executive of CWA Academy Trust, Dr Duncan Ramsey, said: “On behalf of CWA Academy Trust, I would like to congratulate all at Eastgate for this tremendous recognition of what a special place Eastgate Academy has become. To be graded outstanding in every area is a significant achievement and shows how hard the whole community has worked over the last three years. I am particularly pleased that Ofsted have recognised how well the academy cares for its pupils alongside the really high academic results.”
The report highly praises principal Linda Hothersall for her leadership style, pointing out how “she reinforces the importance of education in transforming the lives of the school’s pupils”. Mrs Hothersall is understandably overjoyed with the outcome and has praised staff, governors, parents and students alike. She said: “The journey to outstanding has been a whole community effort. Staff, pupils, parents and governors alike have shaped this academy into the ‘outstanding’ learning provision it is today. It’s down to everyone, from the Trust to the helpers and the grandparents who come in and sit and listen to readers. “The Trust has given us such good support over the last three years. We are the same staffing body that were here before; I am not a new principal. We have just worked really, really hard and it’s paid off. I am absolutely thrilled that the inspectors agree with our self-evaluation. We knew we could do it. “The work ethic in the pupils is inspirational. They just want more and more; the younger ones even ask us for extra homework. It’s not just the in-class curriculum that is shaping our children; we take them out on trips to see what’s beyond their doorstep. Our
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Nelson Academy is ‘good’ in all areas We are delighted to announce that Nelson Academy, in Downham Market, has been graded “good” by Ofsted in all areas following a recent inspection. Ofsted visited the academy on Nursery Road, from 30th November to 1st December 2016, in what was its first inspection since the school took on academy status three years ago. Principal Sarah Wilson is thrilled with the outcome and says it is something that staff, pupils and parents alike should be extremely proud of. She said: “Nelson Academy has come a long way since joining CWA Academy Trust in 2014. Our staff have done a fantastic job at turning things around and improving the learning environment for our pupils over the last few years. Nelson Academy is a wonderful place to work and learn and there is a real sense of community cohesion amongst the teaching body, parents and the wider community. “We will now look to continue to improve leadership and management within the academy, and ensure that any new staff members are given appropriate training to ensure that they are as good as the more experienced staff members. There has been a significant rise in pupils’ achievements and staff at Nelson Academy are prepared to do their utmost to ensure this progression remains, as we continue on our journey to becoming an outstanding academy.” Inspectors reported that “leaders and governors have successfully embedded a culture of aspiration and achievement” at the academy and that “the resource base run by the school serves the requirements of pupils effectively. Pupils receive support that is tailored to their specific needs, well monitored and ensures that these pupils make good progress”. Chair of Governors Melanie Wellard said: “I am extremely proud and overjoyed at this well-deserved Ofsted judgement. It is an absolute pleasure to be working with such an excellent team of people who are relentless in their drive and ambition to be the best academy they can be, in order to ensure they deliver an outstanding education to the children of their community. However, we will continue to strive to achieve even better outcomes for the children now and in the future.” David Pomfret said: “I am delighted that Nelson Academy’s hard work and consistent improvement has been reflected in this recent Ofsted report. The academy received its best exam results to date last year and has formed strong links with the local area to boost extracurricular activity options and community engagement. The Trust will now support the academy to strive to reach outstanding by the time the next inspection comes around; something I know the academy, its staff and support system is more than capable of.”
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DMA hosts cluster schools event Year 6 students from Downham Market Academy’s cluster school group, including Southery Academy, have been getting science savvy, at DMA’s site on Bexwell Road. The aim of the three-day event, which commenced on Monday 13th March, was to boost the profile of science in primary schools and enable year 6 students to visit and experience Downham Market Academy for a day of hands-on, challenging activities. The programme for each day was a carousel of four sessions; the RAF working on leadership and teamwork skills, a physics rocket design class and building and firing exercise, a planetarium lesson on comets and a chemistry chemical testing task. Rose Cornelius, head of science, said: “The feedback from primary schools that attended has been incredibly positive. Every activity was interesting, fun and really showed the variety and endless application of science. With the week being such a success we will look to next year with optimism and hope to involve more students in the event.”
Arts week at KES Academy
King Edward VII Academy hosted an evening of music, drama, dance, art and poetry, for family and friends on Thursday 23rd March 2017. Wendy Holland, associate senior leader at KES Academy, said: “We have so many talented students here at King Edward VII academy and the arts night is an opportunity for us to showcase this talent. The students put on a great show and I am very proud of their efforts.”
DMA become NCS Champion School Downham Market Academy has been awarded champion school status by the National Citizen Service (NCS). Assistant Principal Mrs Beasley, said: “It’s a great achievement to be given champion school status. Our commitment to the programme reflects the amazing feedback we receive from our students and the noticeable difference we see in their attitudes when they return from the programme. “Through NCS, our students meet people from different backgrounds, take on new challenges and, perhaps most importantly, learn about the community and how they can make a difference. This means that not only do young people return more confident, resilient and eager to learn but they are often much more eager to volunteer and help out in their local community.”
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KLA & KES take part in BBC School Report 2017
Students from King Edward VII Academy and King’s Lynn Academy became school reporters for BBC School Report 2017. The scheme sees schools up and down the country take part in an annual news day, where classes simultaneously create video, audio and text-based news reports, which are published on their school website, to which the BBC aims to link. Last year over 1000 schools across the UK took part.
On 16th March, the two King’s Lynn schools produced news reports as part of the national initiative. KES Academy filmed students taking part in dodgeball lessons. They also conducted an interview with PE teacher Alison Taylor, who introduced Dodgeball to the curriculum. Over at King’s Lynn Academy, the students produced a full news broadcast, covering a range of focuses from national news, community news and school themes including feminism, Brexit, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, sport in school, mental health and world book day. KES Academy teacher, Mandy Price, said: “Taking part in the BBC School Report has provided students with an excellent opportunity to create and produce their own school broadcast about issues passionate to themselves and life in the academy.” King’s Lynn Academy teacher, Charlotte Barber said: “It’s been lovely to watch the students work together to achieve their report. They have shown a range of skills throughout this experience such as passion, problem solving and team work which are all part of the school’s ethos.” You can view both videos on the respective academy websites.
Nelson Academy host celebration day
Nelson Academy have had a lot of reasons to celebrate over the last term. After their ‘Good’ Ofsted report, staff put on a celebration day for their students and parents to say a big thank you for their commitment to the academy. Parents and guardians were invited in for a fish and chip lunch with their little ones, whilst pupils celebrated everything British in class from fashion to technology. Most recently, in March, governors of the academy showed their own appreciation for the pupils’ hard work. They held the Governors’ Awards Assembly where two children from each class received certificates for be good role models. These children will be going to Strikes in King’s Lynn for a special treat at the end of March. Well done everyone!
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KES students take World Book Day to the QEH
KES Academy students ensured that young patients at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital did not miss out on the magic of World Book Day. Sixth Form students Karl Brown, Lauren English, Grace Hemeter and Elysia Durdey read to youngsters on Rudham Ward on Thursday 2nd March, as part of the celebrations. One young patient Evie-Mai Pope, five, had been looking forward to dressing up as Matilda for World Book Day but did not miss out entirely thanks to the story session. Her mum Becky, of Wisbech, said: “Evie loves books and was disappointed to miss out on World Book Day. This has given her something to look forward to.”
Student Karl said: “People of our age do not really participate in World Book Day so this has given us the opportunity to give something back to others.” Literacy Co-Ordinator, Fiona Riston, said: “As an academy we understand the importance of care in the community, alongside the need to build a love of reading. Many of the students at KES Academy wish to pursue a career in this industry such as education, medicine or the care industry; with this in mind a group of 6th form students were invited to the QE hospital to read to children on the ward as part of World book day. The students volunteered for this opportunity to get involved in community work.”
World Book Day celebrations World Book Day was a huge success this year. Every academy made a massive effort to get stuck in to a book or two or a literary activity. Students at Eastgate Academy, right top, dressed up following an Old McDonald theme to tie in with the infant classes’ current learning topic. At Nelson Academy, pupils followed a ‘Peter Pan’ theme, which links to their theatre club production taking place later in the year. Southery Academy took part in a range of literature-based activities in class and pulled some very creative costumes out of the bag! Meanwhile, North Wooton’s pupils, second right, were given the option to come dressed as a character from a book they have been studying, or if they were feeling really creative, an adjective of their choice! At the secondary academies, things were a little tamer in the costume department, but the students still got involved nonetheless! KES Academy held a library tea party for top library readers. They also hosted the ‘Big Read’ where KS3 students were invited to the main hall during lunch to read quietly in groups. At KLA it was back to dressing up, as staff and students, third right, jumped into a fictional world for the morning, dressed as their favourite book characters. Meanwhile, Downham Market Academy’s librarian and careers officer, Sarah Hovell, organised a ‘Blind Date with a Book’ event where students, pictured bottom right, unwrapped an unknown book and were given the option to take it home and write a review.
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Southery Academy raise money for EACH Southery Academy’s academy council organised a pyjama day and cake sale to raise money for a charity chosen by the Year 6 pupils, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH). The children raised £124.55 from their fundraising efforts and members of the academy council were picked to take the money to the offices of EACH, in Wymondham, on Thursday 26th January, to find out a bit more about the charity. On visiting the charity offices, the pupils were told how the money would help with the running of EACH hospices and how they have helped raise awareness of the charity’s appeal to raise money for a new hospice. Principal Julian Goodrum said: “It was great for the pupils’ fundraising efforts to be acknowledged by EACH. It makes me very proud of our children to know that they chose this worthwhile cause on their own and then organised the fundraising as well.”
KLA + Maths Mastermind = Winners!
King’s Lynn Academy (KLA) are celebrating a landslide win at this year’s Inter-School Maths Mastermind challenge, taking away five individual year group trophies and the overall award for the highest accumulative score across the board. On Friday 13th January, the best of King’s Lynn secondary schools’ math students put their brains to the test to be named inter-school maths mastermind champions for 2017. Host school King’s Lynn Academy was up against tough competition from King Edward VII Academy and Springwood High School, with St Clements sending their apologies.
King’s Lynn Academy stormed their way to the top of the leader board with an unbeatable 107 points. In second place was King Edward VII Academy with a respectable 84 points and in third position was Springwood High School with 79.
DMA win U14 Rugby County Title On Thursday 23rd March, the DMA U14 rugby team travelled to West Norfolk Rugby Club for their county final against KES Academy. After defeating Springwood in the semi-final, 35 – 34 (having been 34 – 5 behind at half time), the team were full of confidence. KES started the game much brighter than DMA and soon found themselves 7 – 0 ahead and a well worked move led to a score under the posts which left DMA behind after only a couple of minutes. DMA later came back strong to set up a tense second half where each team kicked a lot of possession to relieve pressure and gain territory. KES continued to defend well but by the time the final whistle came, DMA were celebrating their third county title in four years. Paul Southam, head of sport at DMA, said: “Well done to all the boys that have represented the team this year.”
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Comic Relief at CWA Academy Trust
As with every significant fundraising event, our academies got stuck in to make a huge effort for Red Nose Day, raising a fantastic amount of money for Comic Relief. Nelson Academy, pictured left, raised a fantastic £589. They held a bake sale and bric-a-brac stall, sold red noses and took part in in-class activities. £320 was raised from noses alone and £269 extra funds were donated from the additional activities. Eastgate Academy, below, raised a total of £330! They had a sea of red in assembly, raising £221 from a non-uniform donation and £109 for a cake raffle. A staggering 280 red noses were sold in three days.
Pupils got funny for money at Southery Academy, singing their red nose day song and selling their own joke book. They raised around £90 for Comic Relief. You can watch their video of ‘Put a nose on it!’ on the Southery Academy website. Staff and students at North Wootton Academy, second right, raised £337.90 from a non-uniform day and bake sale. Everyone made their best effort to dress up as red as possible with some students even colouring their hair too! Over at Downham Market Academy Sixth Form, students, third right, took part in a number of charity events, the most recent being Comic Relief. For Red Nose Day, students held a bake sale, a quiz, a charity football match and a sports themed fancy dress day. The current total is standing at £120 and this is still rising. Students at Upwell Academy, also dressed in red. From non-school uniform donations, the academy raised £146.15. Haidee Norman, Principal of Upwell Academy, said: “This is a fantastic effort from the students; a big well done to all of them for making an effort to come in wearing their best red outfits. We raised a good amount of money for Comic Relief and had lots of fun in the process.” As well as a non-uniform day, KES Academy, bottom right, held bingo at lunch time and a talent show. All donations went towards the Red Nose Day appeal and students raised over £600. The head of year 8 also arranged an array of additional fundraising activities including ‘how many shirts is Mr Robinson wearing?’ (pictured bottom right) and a ‘guess the baby’ game.
King’s Lynn Academy, above, raised over £500 (the last count was £535 but they’re still counting!). They held a biscuit sale, students paid to come in non-uniform and staff held a quiz in tutor time.
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#Impact visits KES Academy A campaign aimed at educating young drivers about road safety stopped off at King Edward VII Academy on Friday 24th March, as a part of a whirlwind tour of the county. The #Impact campaign was launched by Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner Lorne Green in midNovember 2016 in a bid to highlight the issue. The event saw students witness an enactment of someone being cut out of a car after a crash. the driver was played by a KES Academy sixth form student. Principal Craig Morrison said: “I commend the #IMPACT campaign and the work that the Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner has done so far on educating young drivers about road safety. Demonstrations such as this are designed to make young people think twice about their behaviour behind the wheel and so, as an academy, we support anything that can help raise awareness of the dangers.”
Nelson Academy host 2017 Futures Fair
Nelson Academy’s annual Futures Fair took place on Friday 24th March 2017. Exhibitors from MCP Solicitors, Centre Parcs at Thetford, St. John Ambulance, Royal Air Force, Shire Foods Norfolk, Steven Seals Builder Ltd and the College of West Anglia came along to talk to pupils and get them to take part in interactive activites, aimed to inspire them for the future.
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Crown and Mitre donate to Eastgate Academy
A King’s Lynn pub has generously donated the money raised from its annual Christmas raffle and bar collection to Eastgate Academy to support them in buying new sound and light equipment for their hall. Pub owners Roger and Yvonne Duggan of The Crown and Mitre public house in King’s Lynn have grandchildren attending the academy and decided to donate the £517 raised in recognition of the hard work and dedication with which the teaching staff show its pupils. Linda Hothersall, Eastgate Academy principal said: “The new equipment will make such a difference to our academy shows. It will mean that the whole audience will be able to see and hear the children clearly.”
KES Academy student receives Queen’s Gold Award This year’s KES Academy Gold Medal recipient is Sean Lott from South Wootton. Sean received the award from Her Majesty The Queen, on Sunday 22nd January, as he achieved the highest A-level grades at KES Academy, for the academic year of 2016. This prize-giving is part of a long-standing tradition at the academy, in King’s Lynn, which operates under CWA Academy Trust. Sean studied maths, chemistry, biology and physics, gaining 3 A*s and an A grade. He is currently studying medicine at University College London (UCL), with hopes of achieving his ambition to become a GP. Sean said: “It was definitely an honour to meet The Queen. Before I went in, I said to myself, ‘The Queen is on the other side of that door’, which I thought was going to be quite daunting, but she was really nice. I’ve now got six years of hard work ahead of me studying medicine at UCL, but it’ll be worth it as I’ve always wanted to do this, just as the hard work before was worth it to get me here.” Principal Craig Morrison attended the day’s events with Sean and his family. He said: “It’s such a great pleasure to introduce Sean to The Queen today. He’s a really deserving student and has worked so, so hard. Everyone at KES Academy is extremely proud of him and I know he’ll keep this level of dedication up throughout his degree study.” The engraved medal will now be kept safe and cherished by the family, conjuring up some fantastic memories in years to come.
The newsletter is designed to provide an overall team update as well as providing an insight as to what’s going on at our other academies. If you have any ideas or suggestions for future editions of the CWA Academy Trust Newsletter, please contact lois.hyland@cwaacademytrust.co.uk
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