A SPECIALIST academy has celebrated 100 per cent of its school leavers achieving a nationally recognised accreditation.
Staff and pupils at Beaumont Hill Academy, part of The Education Village Academy Trust, Darlington, enjoyed another year of success with all of its Year 11 pupils receiving an accreditation across a wide range of subjects.
Twenty four pupils at the specialist academy, which supports children with a range of abilities from profound and multiple learning difficulties to severe and complex needs, worked on a selection of 54 accredited courses including English, maths, PHSE, cookery skills, art and design, biology, travel and tourism, sports science and ICT, with some also tackling mainstream GCSE papers.
Pupil Darius Kirk, 16, achieved two grade 7s in science and a grade 8 in maths after working in collaboration with Haughton Academy and head girl of the academy’s prefect team Annie Snowball, 16, overcame many barriers to gain three GCSE passes in art, maths and English and will study small animal care at Houghall College, Durham.
Beaumont Hill Academy Principal Adrian Lynch said: “With some of our pupils we identify where they have real strengths so we can stretch or challenge them even further.
“All pupils are looked at on an individual basis and if they are ready we try to integrate them into a mainstream setting in lessons where they are really strong.”
“This also helps to build confidence, self esteem and helps prepare them for their next steps in education.”
“We are extremely pleased with this year’s results, many of our year 11’s have successfully achieved over 10 nationally recognised qualifications in a wide range of subjects.”
Pupil Liam Austin, 16, of Shildon, who came to Beaumont Hill in 2017, after taking a year out of mainstream school, was rewarded for his hard work with an impressive 12 accreditations and will be studying art and design at Bishop Auckland College.
“Beaumont Hill Academy really has changed my life,” said Liam. “It’s an amazing school with amazing teachers and I’m really pleased with my exam results.”
Mum Catherine Austin added: “There was a time when I though Liam wouldn’t get any qualifications but since he came to Beaumont Hill everything changed – this school is magic.
“All of the staff are so understanding and supportive, not just to Liam but also to me, its like one big family and I couldn’t be any prouder than I feel today.”
Head girl for Beaumont Hill student council team Bethany Fenby, 16, who joined the academy in Year 10 after being bullied at her previous school, achieved a wide range of accreditations and will be staying on at Beaumont Hill for a further year to prepare her for college.
“At Beaumont Hill everyone is really friendly,” said Bethany.
“The teacher have helped me a lot and I’m really happy with my results.”
Nathan Armstrong, who has attended the academy for a number of years, achieved a grade 5 in maths and was delighted that he exceeded his target.
Beaumont Hill Academy Executive principal Caroline Green added: “We are absolutely delighted with our results.
“All of the hard work by our pupils and our staff has given us an extremely positive outcome this academic year and really helped prepare our young people for the next stage in their learning.”