Plans for multi-million-pound EACT academy in Sheffield

PUPILS from the former Parkwood High School in Sheffield will start the academic year as students of the new Parkwood Academy which opens its doors on September 7.

 

The academy, sponsored by EACT, is based in the existing school buildings but will move to new purpose-built accommodation in 2012. Meanwhile extensive improvement work has been carried out to maintain the school while design and planning for the new building takes place.

 

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

 

Parkwood Principal Chris Mallaband said: “I’m delighted and very excited to be opening as a new academy. We have worked hard in the last 12 months to prepare for transformation as the former school transfers to the academy under a new sponsor. 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 Parkwood.  We believe that becoming an academy will transform the educational offer to our students and communities.”

 

Students have marked the transformation with a distinctive new uniform, including the academy’s logo. Students led the design process for the uniform and logo – something that the academy is very proud of.  Likewise students, staff and the local community will be closely involved in helping develop the design of the 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 Parkwood 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.”

 

Parkwood, which has 675 students on roll, and 130 staff, will join five other new EACT-sponsored academies opening in September. EACT’s first academy, Trent Valley in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, is this month moving into a new £33 million purpose-built academy building.