This has been a historical week for Chantry as we opened the doors to the new school. I feel privileged to be the Principal of an Academy that is not only new but has students that are respectful and grateful for the opportunities we provide.
The building itself is an inspirational place to work and learn; as I walk around the academy the students are more focussed and determined and say that the new environment will add to their progress. Over the next few months we will have a number of information evenings that can combine a tour of the new school and outline our ambition for the students. Our first information evening was with year 7. A crowd 300 turned up to hear how an academy where parents and staff work together to support the children of Chantry can take the next step to outstanding.
Also this week we welcomed our new year 7 students who are following the new curriculum with higher expectations. It is a pleasure to see their ambition and optimism when you walk in to the lesson. In fact all our students have returned with a new sense of optimism and vigour. Our new ethos; the VALUED student will enhance this as we work towards our students being Versatile, Aspirational, Learned, Understanding, Engaged and Determined. This ethos is built upon the following beliefs.
- Every child wants to be successful
- There are no barriers to learning
- There is no excuse for poor progress
- We get want we expect
- Learning is our core purpose
I couldn’t let the first the blog of the year go by without mentioning our significant improvement in results. Through hard work and determination our students almost doubled the previous year’s GCSEs. This improvement was recognised this week by the PiXL club, a group of 1500 schools who share ideas to improve students attainment. The club identify and celebrate the top 20 schools in the country who had made the largest increase in GCSE results. I currently have an amazing trophy sitting on my desk which is a reminder that the pursuit of excellence will be rewarded. I would like to thank everyone who supported the students, so that an extra 30 children can now choose their college course rather than settling for second best.
This week we also launched the new website which will be updated regularly. The changes will hopefully make it easier to navigate and find the correct information that you need. Thank you to the parent forum for their comments and I hope that the new site reflect the changes you wanted.
Next week we welcome back a more mature and inspired year 11 as they finish their work experience.
principalchantry 