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I have just returned from the Academy and confirm the following arrangements:
Students will return on a phased basis over 3 days
Monday 11th - 6th Form and Yr 11 8.30am – (note 6th Form Maths arrive at 7.30am)
Tues 12th – as above plus Y10 and Y7
Wed 13th – all students
I have decided to bring students back gradually because some parts of the site are still dangerous, these are at the rear of the building where there is still several inches of snow and the restricted access caused by builders’ hoardings has not allowed us to get access for diggers. These problems also prevent us from using our normal fire assembly points.
We have suffered more than some due to the exposed nature of the site but have now managed to clear the front paths and car parking areas. The approach on Hazelhurst Drive is very treacherous and difficult to access for parents attempting to drop off or pick up children, buses may also have to drop off on Hollin Lane – I will try and get this attended to over the next two days but I do not know what the council’s current gritting and clearing capacity is. The pavements on Hollin Lane are also poor and students are asked to take great care on the roads.
This week students will be required to stay inside the building and this should reduce the likelihood of accidents within the academy site. I have reduced the length of break and lunchtimes by 15 mins in order to assist supervision and students will finish earlier at 2.25pm, we expect to be able to serve hot food.
On Monday our focus will be supporting the 6th form students in preparation for the A level and diploma exams that are taking place during the week. We will also provide intensive support for the Y11 ICT students who also have exams, for others the timetable will operate normally. On Tuesday Y7 will stay with their Core Competency teachers in order to reduce general movement within the academy and Y11 and Y10 will follow their scheduled timetables in readiness for Y8 and Y9 returning on Wednesday.
If every student co-operates and acts sensibly we can be fully operational on Wednesday morning and that means coming to the Academy to work hard and learn. It does not mean coming to take advantage of a white adventure playground – it is possible that a small number will act in a way that makes conditions dangerous for others – if that happens I will send them home so please brief your own children in advance and warn them of the increased dangers caused by icy conditions. With this in mind we have relaxed our rules on footwear – whilst there is now on the ground students can wear any sturdy shoes or boots that have a good sole.
I recognise that these arrangements may not please some families and that schools in general have faced criticism in some areas of the media and have been accused of closing unnecessarily. I assure you that this is not the case here – any resident in the vicinity of St Anne’s will confirm the exceptionally poor road conditions and our building site has also had to close down. We were unable to clear car parks last week because the diesel had frozen in the Wilmott Dixon diggers! I have a responsibility to ensure a safe and calm environment and I am not prepared to take risks that entail waiting outside with cold, injured pupils wondering how long it will take for an ambulance to arrive or consoling families of victims of road accidents partially resulting from my decisions. There may be a few instances in the next couple of days where our return to school arrangements prevent parents from returning to work – in such circumstances please contact me first thing in the morning and I will endeavour to assist you.
On Friday my senior leadership team met to make arrangements for the week ahead and over the weekend we have briefed staff. I now need students to return promptly and in large numbers at their specified time in order that these efforts are not in vain.
In the event of a severe deterioration in conditions overnight this message will be updated at 6.00am on Monday 11 January.
With best wishes
Eric Jackson
Principal
The Academy will remain closed on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th January. At this stage we hope to reopen on Monday 11th and further information will be posted at 15:00 on Sunday 10th.
At this stage we expect 6th form exams to proceed as planned but we are attempting to discuss the situation with the examination boards.
The mock examination timetable will be deferred by one week. We apologise to parents for any inconvenience caused but having visited the school this morning I consider that even if staff can get here, despite the best efforts of our caretakers, the site itself is too dangerous for students to attend.
Please see below for pictures of the site as of Friday 8th January.
Eric Jackson
Principal
The Academy will remain closed on Wednesday 6th January but expects to reopen on Thursday 7th. Please revisit this site after 15:00 each day to check the current position.
Please read our most recent news letter the next edition is scheduled to be published at the end of this term.
July 2008 (PDF)
Autumn 2009 (PDF)
Wilmott Dixon have started work on the new academy with a vengeance. The first few weeks of the new year have been devoted to establishing the new building site and now we can finally see the huge scale of what will happen over the next 18 months.
Over the next weeks we will see heavy plant on site in order to create the correct levels for the new building, this will entail moving earth around in order to create a flat surface and then added new substrates in order to provide a solid basis to the area where the building will be erected.
Works of this size place huge demands on everyone. A new fire evacuation plan has been written in order to ensure that students can reach the new fire assembly point, the astro-turf pitch.
The official government performance tables are not published until January 2009 but provisional results show that St Anne’s Academy will be in the top 5 Rochdale schools on the basis of students who achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C. 63% of academy students achieved this standard: this is higher than the local authority average and an amazing 20 percentage points above the target for the school.
Academy students continue to make far greater progress than similar students in comparable schools. Last year, St Anne’s was in the top 5% of schools nationally on the basis of added value. It is likely that this position will be sustained.
The government have introduced a new indicator of success, the “Gold Standard”, which measures the number of students achieving 5 or more A*-C passes including English and Maths. St Anne’s results against this were equally impressive with 43% achieving the standard – 15 percentage points above target. This places the academy in 4th position in Middleton and Heywood, with a very small difference between 3rd and 4th placed schools.
Principal, Eric Jackson states, “Local people can no longer deny the phenomenal progress that students learning here achieve. This year we can boast hard figures alongside the more complex value added data...
The schools that we passed last year have been left behind again and this year we have overtaken more. The gap between us and the top group is closing year on year and that is set to continue. Most importantly, the more successful the academy is, the more successful individual students are.”
“I expected excellent results but these exceed my expectations. All types of student have benefited. Our most able have achieved an excellent number of high grades, but it is the middle ranking youngsters who have achieved these amazing figures. We look very carefully at each student’s capability and then monitor their progress monthly. This checking and support, together with outstanding teaching and superb relationships, has ensured that many students have done far better than could have reasonably been expected and this will be confirmed when value-added figures are published later in the year. Translated, this means they have done better here than if they had attended most other schools in Greater Manchester. They have experienced 'The A Factor'."
“These GCSE results represent a milestone in the education of these young people. On the 3rd September 63 former pupils walked back through the academy doors to join the new 6th Form. This number included 8 who had left between 2006-2007 and who seized the opportunity to rejoin a school where they had performed so well. The academy is now set to convince these youngsters that they can set their own targets in life."
St Anne's Academy can proudly announce that plans for the new site due to be completed by 2010 are well on the way. Artistic impressions have been created and will shortly be available to view, as well as a 3D virtual tour of the Academy.
Click on the link to see a preview of the pictures
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