Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick to proceed with academy plans

After a six week consultation process the governing body has now made an application to the Regional Schools Director Katherine Cowell to convert into an academy and join the Ponteland-based Pele Trust.

Co-heads Alan Rogers and James Wilson have revealed the governing body considered all of the information gathered during a comprehensive consultation process and overall found the DCHS community to be supportive of the conversion.

They said: “We strongly believe that this is a positive move for DCHS and we look forward to working formally with the Pele Trust in the future.”

The pair, along with governors, have already undertaken an 18 month process of fact finding and discussions with Multiple Academy Trusts.

They were particularly impressed by the results of its work with the Pele Trust since Oftsed inspectors judged DCHS to ‘require improvement’ in late 2021.

From an educational perspective, they say conversion to academy status will improve pupil progress and open the door for increased extra-curricular opportunities.

Financially, there would be joint procurement and purchasing opportunities and improved retention of high quality staff.

Thirdly, it would reduce the risk of being left in a position in the future where the school felt the need to join a large trust but without the opportunity to retain any autonomy at school level.

The co-heads have also provided assurances that, should the move proceed, the heritage and unique history of DCHS will be preserved, with a commitment that neither the school name, badge, nor uniform would change.

A final decision by the Department of Education is expected later in summer term.

If approved, DCHS and the Pele Trust would work closely together to ensure a smooth transition with any planned conversion taking place later in the autumn term of the next school year.

Ofsted inspectors praised improvements being made at the school on the last monitoring visit in July 2022 and said it was making progress towards a good judgement.

They recognised the shift in post-16 personal development sessions that are now focused on post-18 education and also praised the work completed to improve the quality of the curriculum.