Warwickshire News Mine

If the document is rubber stamped by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the county council will be able to launch a full public consultation on the opportunity to invest in a flagship Academy to replace Manor Park School and Alderman Smith School in September 2010.

Cabinet members last Thursday (9 June) approved the submission of a formal Expression of Interest to the Government for a £20 - 30 million investment in an Academy in partnership with North Warwickshire and Hinckley College. It was also agreed to carry out a review of secondary school priority areas in Nuneaton.

The Academy investment is a central element of the county council’s drive to raise educational standards, improve school buildings and deal with surplus places in Nuneaton.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for a major investment in Nuneaton. We have an excellent partner relationship with an outstanding college, whose principles and beliefs in education mirror our own. The Expression of Interest sets out an exciting vision for the Academy and the college’s plan to help raise standards.

“This agreement is the next step forward for important investment which will make a difference, not just to education but to the whole community and their aspirations.

“I understand everyone has not yet had chance to have their say, but we have already held holding information meetings and I can assure the public that they will be able to take part in a thorough consultation process scheduled for the autumn.”

Academies are publicly funded, all ability, independent schools established by sponsors working in partnership with the Government and local authorities.

The Nuneaton proposal is for an Academy, with North Warwickshire and Hinckley College as the sponsor, to be developed on the existing Alderman Smith site. The Academy will open next September and building work is scheduled to be completed by September 2013.

If given the go ahead, the Nuneaton Academy will provide 1,050 places for 11 to 16 year-olds and post-16 provision of 150 places. It has also been earmarked to specialise in engineering and science, although the college remains committed to continuing the good work of the two existing schools in their chosen specialisms of sport and performing arts.

Both the county council and the college are keen to ensure as much information as possible is available to the public. Meetings have already taken place with parents, staff and governors to ensure that people can hear information first hand and ask questions of senior officers. A full scale consultation is planned for the autumn.

The academy proposal is part of a wider plan for Nuneaton which also includes a proposal for a National Challenge Trust School at George Eliot, and the rebuilding of every secondary school in Nuneaton as part of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme. The county council is committed to ensuring strong, viable and successful schools across the borough.

Marion Plant, Principal of North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, said: “We are very pleased with the cabinet’s decision as we firmly believe the opening of an Academy in Nuneaton, supported by significant government funding, is a way to raise youngsters’ levels of achievement and bring inward investment to the town that will provide much broader educational opportunities for future generations.

“The recession and changing industry trends are impacting strongly on youngsters all over the area, and we believe the Academy can help them better prepare for that. It will provide them with the opportunity to develop skills at an early age that will give them a stronger start when they leave to enter the employment world or go into further or higher education.

“The college already has an excellent record of helping local schools broaden their curriculum and raise student attainment, and the Academy will enable us to develop this. In addition, it can provide opportunities to broaden staff experience and share good practice.

"The schools can also benefit from the college’s expertise in estates, information communication technology and human resources. The youngsters at the Academy will also benefit from access to the college’s extensive partnership with universities, employers and voluntary organisations.”

Link to WCC