Year 5 & 6 parents: The underdog that you may just want to look into... * 2014 = 70% A*- C GCSE (inc Maths /English) (+5% on last year) These are the results of the Fareham Academy this year. To give some comparison: * FA came 1st of 8 local state schools in % increase on last year * FA came 2nd of 8 local state schools in % GCSEs (Brookfield 1st) * Hampshire average 61% (+1% last year) * National average 68.8% (+0.7% last year) Fareham Academy have their open day next week, 17th September and they welcome students from Whiteley. My son has just started there and when we chose FA as our 1st choice last year, the first reaction I got from Whiteley parents was where? (it used to be called Neville Lovett). The second reaction I got was Oooh, I heard X, Y Z about it (with a worried look on their face). I even saw one of the teachers at WPS raise their eyebrows when I told them thats where my son was going, no comments were made but their indifference speaks volumes about the perceptions out there. Well actually, most of those XYZs you heard are true. Yes just a few years ago they were a satisfactory school, below national average with something like only 45% students getting their A*-C grades. And so a new headteacher, Nadine Powrie was sent in to shake things up with the brief of turn that school around whatever it takes. It was clear that incremental progress was not an option. So yes those rumours are true - she did change a lot of staff, she did expel students, she certainly did shake things up and I suspect not everyone liked that but she has an uncompromising drive for improvement. They base the school around their core values of the 3 Rs - Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. And within just 1 year the GCSE results rose by 18% to 63% and have continued to grow each year since. People seem wary of the school having an Academy status and again my friends looked worried, as if Academies mean it can do its own thing and were somehow a loose cannon. (I read recently that over 50% of state secondary schools are now academies). All it means is the funding works differently and they are free from local authority control but they still have to deliver Government outcomes, the students still sit the same exams! Ive asked Mrs Powrie about it and she feels strongly that being an academy means you are MORE accountable, MORE scrutinised. But the freedom to choose suppliers means she can use budgets the way a business would (shop around) rather than have to go with 1 regular supplier dictated by the LEA. In just one example she quoted that meant a saving of £30K - thats another teacher in the classroom for our kids :) and we did notice their class sizes were smaller than some of the other schools. The Head is not afraid to challenge the norm, she embraces innovation and I think relishes proving wrong those who say it cant be done like that or more typically but weve always done it like that in Hampshire. I can see that some will be wary of her approach (after all what we know seems safe) but all I can say is let the results speak for themselves.........up 5% this year to 70% GCSEs, a year when many schools saw a drop in results. School size is approx 700 pupils. They provide free minibus transport from Whiteley. So I am prepared to speak up for the underdog. The dog just barked pretty loud in this years results! I would encourage those of you doing the school tours to put this one on the list too. Ignore the gossip about ALL the schools (theres plenty of gossip about each one of course) and go and see several for yourself as you work out which one is the best fit for your child. After all, arent we lucky in Whiteley that we have several to choose from :) Also to note, if you cant make the FA open evening they state Every day is an open day - come at a time to suit you, to see the school and talk with the teachers and students and meet the Head. Its easy for all the schools to put on a show for 1 open night (when they choose their best students to escort you round) so I purposely went back another time and was given free reign to go up to any student and ask them anything I liked! After hearing all those rumours you can bet I asked a lot of questions to dispel fact from fiction ;)
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 20:43:41 +0000
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