Warwickshire celebrates success as three schools achieve specialist status
Schools Minister Andrew Adonis has announced that three secondary schools in Warwickshire - Ash Green, Queen Elizabeth and Manor Park Community School - have been awarded specialist status.
Queen Elizabeth School in Atherstone has been granted specialist sports status while Ash Green School in Exhall and Manor Park Community School in Nuneaton have both achieved specialist status in the arts.
The specialist schools programme is part of the Government’s agenda to raise standards across the whole curriculum and offer students a greater opportunity to realise their potential.
Extra funding means that the schools can enhance opportunities in their specialist subjects while providing a balanced education to all pupils. The initiative will also benefit local partner schools and the wider community.
Each school underwent a rigorous audit to satisfy the Government that they could achieve key targets. Their specialist status will start in September.
Mark Gore, Head of Education, Partnerships and School Development for Warwickshire County Council, said: "This is an excellent achievement and shows well deserved recognition for the three schools. I am sure that Ash Green, Queen Elizabeth and Manor Park will flourish under their specialist status, offering an even better education to our pupils and more opportunities to the local community."
Ash Green headteacher, Graham Tyrer, said: “We value our relationship with the local community and we will be using our new status to provide opportunities for our partner schools and community groups. We have exciting plans which include working with the Belgrade Theatre to establish a community theatre and opening a multi-media ICT suite which will help develop young people’s literacy and employability.”
He added: “The news follows our record SATs results. Last year our intake was up by 40% and this national recognition reflects strong confidence in the school.”
Anthony Wilmot, Headteacher of Queen Elizabeth School, said: “This will have a huge impact not just on the school but on the community of Atherstone, which has a rich sports heritage stretching back hundreds of years. We will be using sport to raise standards across the whole school and provide exciting opportunities for the local community.”
Manor Park acting headteacher, Bernice Astling, said: "We see the award of specialist school status as a major achievement for Manor Park and recognition of the hard work of staff who made this possible. We have an excellent track record in the arts - but the extra funding will help us to raise standards even higher.”
She added: “Manor Park Community School aims to become a creative hub for the Arts, working closely with other schools and the wider community. We plan to refurbish areas of the school and use new technology to develop excellent achievement and high quality provision in Art, Drama and English.”