STAFF have come together for a special anniversary picture as plans get underway to mark ten years of a pioneering academy.
This year marks a decade since the opening of The King's Academy, in Coulby Newham, and the event will be celebrated with a reunion for all former staff and students.
More than 60 teaching and support staff have been there since the academy opened in 2003 and they came together to kick off the anniversary year.
On April 26 2014, up to 2,000 former students and 250 staff could go back to school when the academy hosts the special reunion.
The King's was among the first in the country to open under the City Academies initiative when it brought together staff and students from Brackenhoe and Coulby Newham schools and the Beverly School for the Deaf, and was sponsored by local business leader by Sir Peter Vardy.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair described it as the best example of social justice he had seen when he visited to officially open the academy.
Designed to raise standards, ambition and opportunities for young people, The King's recorded a rise of 13.4 per cent to hit 34 per cent for the benchmark GCSE results in its first year, a figure that this year hit 89 per cent.
At just two years old Ofsted declared it “a good school with many strong features” and it 2009 it was named the most Improved school in the North East.
This year The King’s was the only secondary school in Middlesbrough to have maintained its standards and uphold its Ofsted status.
Principal for the past eight years Chris Drew, who was a vice principal and head of sixth form when the academy opened, said: “The very fact that so many of the original staff are here ten years on is testament to the culture and success of The King’s Academy.
“We are all as passionate today as we were at the launch, driven by the impact high quality education can have on students, their families and the community at large.”
His sentiments were echoed by assistant vice principal Carey Brownless.
“We not only had a new school but a new way of working and staff, students and the community have responded brilliantly,” she said.
“My previous school didn’t have the consistency of The King’s in that there were too many supply teachers. It also didn’t have the benefit of our culture, ethos and structure which children need in their lives. The majority of our students enjoy coming to school because they know they are cared for.”
PE teacher and pastoral head Jackie Hurst, who taught at Coulby Newham, added: “We all had to get used to the new structure and once we did it worked. What it has done for the children has been absolutely tremendous and the opportunities that are there for them are fantastic, thanks to the commitment of the staff.
“The ethos is based on positivity and praise and the students are proud to come to school; they are proud of its reputation. It has a really good vibe and they know what the end result will be if they maximise their opportunities. This culture has now spread from the school into the community.”
* All former students are welcome at the reunion next year and are asked to register at www.thekingsacademyreunion.org.uk where they can also read about what fellow alumni have gone on to achieve and remember their school days.
