Hednesford secondary school converts to academy

Kingsmead School, on Kings Avenue, is the first school to partner with John Taylor High School on Dunstall Road in Barton-under-Needwood as part of the John Taylor Multi Academy Trust.

Headteacher Ian Bryant said: "The decision to convert to academy status was Kingsmead's decision and the governors and I believe that it was the right time for this change.

"With over 60 per cent of secondary schools already converted to academies and a clear indication that the programme of academisation will continue in this parliament, we believed that it was a question of when and how Kingsmead became an Academy."

He added: "We did not need to reinvent our school but did see an opportunity to ensure that the conversion would be of benefit to our staff and students. "

The proposals were first considered back in January and a month long consultation was held with parents and staff before a decision was made by the school's Governing Body.

Mr Bryant said it is an exciting opportunity for schools to work together.

He added: "As a partner Academy with John Taylor High School Kingsmead staff will have the opportunity to access the wide range of training, to learn from the best practice at John Taylor High School and also to share the best of what we do at Kingsmead with them.

"At Kingsmead we are continually looking to be even better and it is by working closely with other schools that we believe that we can best achieve this for the benefit of all our students.

John Taylor High School is an 11 to18 secondary school which is graded outstanding by Ofsted.

The Governors examined a number of options and potential sponsors before deciding that joining the John Taylor Multi Academy Trust was the best way forward. The new school on Kings Avenue, opened on September 1, ready for the new academic year.

John Taylor High School became the first academy in Staffordshire in November 2010.

Being an academy gives the school the more freedom to allocate the school budget and to join forces with another school.

It also means the school can now bid for capital money to improve school buildings

Within a multi-academy trust all schools are governed by one academy trust but Kingsmead School will retain its own governing body.

The school has 1,300 pupils and is no longer controlled by the local authority.