South Norfolk school applies for academy status

A south Norfolk high school has applied to become an academy.

Academy status would give Old Buckenham High School, near Attleborough, more freedom to set its pay and conditions for staff, deliver the curriculum and change the length of its terms and school days.

The high school, which currently has 607 pupils on roll, was rated good after its last Ofsted inspection, meaning that if it was to make the move to an academy, it would not need a sponsor.

A consultation was held for parents, governors, students and staff last year and headteacher Peter Whear said that the response was positive.

“A public consultation was held because they wanted to gain an understanding on how the community would feel about academy status.

“There are clear benefits in terms of flexibility and the curriculum that we could adopt to the needs of our students. There will also be benefits in terms of the school’s financial position. The school is in a strong financial position at the moment.

“We would have greater flexibility in terms of what we teach and how we teach it.”

He said that holidays, uniform, the timings and length of the school day and conditions of staff pay would not change.

“We have no plans to change the way we work with the other schools in our cluster,” Mr Whear added.

Governors submitted the bid for academy status and are waiting to hear from the Department for Education to find out if they have been successful.

Local MP George Freeman has written to David Laws, Minister of State for Schools, to express his support

“We are delighted that our local MP is an advocate for the school,” Mr Whear said.