Birmingham: two EACT academies open with exciting plans for the future

PUPILS from the former Heartlands High and Shenley Court Schools will start the academic year as students of new academies as Shenley and Heartlands Academies open their doors on September 7.

 

Both academies, sponsored by EACT, are temporarily based in the existing school buildings, as they prepare to move to new purpose-built accommodation in 2012. Improvement work has been taking place during the summer at each site, while design and planning for the new buildings takes place.

 

Multi-academy sponsor EACT is opening six academies – independently-sponsored schools within the state sector – in Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds and London. 

 

Shenley Academy Principal Ruth Harker said: “I’m delighted to be opening as a new academy. We have exciting plans for the future and I hope all our students will enjoy the experiences and opportunities they can look forward to at Shenley Academy. We have a new uniform and a fresh new look and together they symbolise the important next step in our development as a centre of educational excellence.”

 

Heartlands Academy Principal Glynis Jones said: “We are very proud to be opening as an academy. We have worked hard in the last 12 months to prepare for a step-change as the former school transfers under a new sponsor. Becoming an academy is ultimately about improving opportunities and the life chances of young people. We’re also really looking forward to getting involved in designing and developing our new facilities.”

 

Students, staff and the local community will be closely involved in helping develop the design of each new academy building.

 

Sir Bruce Liddington, the former Schools Commissioner for England and Director General of EACT said: “We have a clear vision for our academies and that is to deliver educational excellence for all. At Shenley and Heartlands we aim to achieve very high standards of education and learning. Developing a new academy is a huge opportunity to really make a difference as well as providing excellent new facilities for the future which will benefit students and the wider community for decades to come.”

 

Heartlands, which has 700 students on roll, and 102 staff, and Shenley which has 900 students and 120 staff, will join four other new EACT-sponsored academies opening in September. EACT’s first academy, Trent Valley in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, is this month moving into a new £35 million purpose-built academy building.