Bishop Perowne to be an academy too (From Worcester News)

Bishop Perowne to be an academy too

11:10am Saturday 11th February 2012 in News By Alicia Kelly, @aliciakellyWN #worcsnews

ANOTHER Worcester High School will become an academy this year.

Bishop Perowne CE Performing Arts College has been granted academy status by the government and hopes to convert by May.

The school is the fourth of the five city secondary schools to become an academy.

The only Worcester school which does not have academy status is Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, which as a faith school takes its pupils from across south Worcestershire.

The school had applied for the status with the support of three partners - manufacturer Yamazak Mazak, the King’s school and the University of Worcester.

The school is a converter academy, which is where well-performing schools can opt to convert, and not a sponsored academy which is when the status is imposed upon a struggling school.

Bishop Perowne, which was rated by Ofsted as satisfactory in 2009, has been allowed to convert because its results have improved for three years running.

Bishop Perowne’s headteacher Julie Farr said it was excellent news for the school.

She said: “We intend to take full advantage of academy status to further improve attainment and enhance provision to our students.

“We saw it as an opportunity to improve our already very good results.”

As an academy the school will no longer be under local government control but will be funded directly by central government with greater control of its budgets, staff and curriculum.

Ms Farr said there were no plans to change the school’s name or its admissions policy.

She said the school hoped Academy status would help it build on its “strong and flourishing” partnerships with each of the three organisations.

Bishop Perowne and the King’s school have a five-year partnership including joint access to an astro turf provided by King’s on Bishop Perowne’s site, while King’s also offer bespoke sixth form bursaries to Bishop Perowne students.

The school and the university have worked together for 15 years including support from the school for the University’s post-graduate certificate for Education.

Pupils have built up links with Worcester-based company Yamazak Mazak and students can gain level 3 qualifications by working with the organisation.

Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, called it “wonderful news for teachers, pupils and parents.”

He added: “The school has already developed strong links with both industry and other education providers to create opportunities for pupils to excel and I look forward to seeing that progress continuing in the future.”