Tony Brookes responds to a recent report in the Goole Courier that the new Trinity Academy is already oversubscribed.

Public will decide if new academy is a success.

Goole – Howden – Thorne Courier. (25 Nov 04)

How can Trinity Academy at Thorne be a success (Courier November 11) when it has not yet even opened?

The Vardy Foundation should realise it is opening a new school not providing advertising hype to sell a new car.

The claim for success is based on attracting 224 pupils to join the academy in September.

Yet the admission limit for Thorne Grammar School of 252 pupils has been reduced to 224 for the academy.

Trinity Academy is one of the government’s flagship developments in education.

One would expect this purpose built state-of-the-art school to be massively oversubscribed rather than struggling to reach its admission limit.

Why is this new model not in greater demand?

The success of parents in Conisbrough in resisting plans for a second Vardy Academy have hardly assisted recruitment for Trinity Academy.

Their campaign has sown seeds of doubt in the minds of parents in Thorne/Moorends and beyond about fundamentalist teaching.

The failure of the Vardy Foundation to consult parents adequately has resulted in a disciplinary code which many parents consider draconian and unworkable and a uniform thought to be outdated & expensive.

Better market research was needed before this new model was launched.

Trinity Academy is not a success. It is an experiment with the pupils as guinea pigs.

The people of Thorne/Moorends will decide if the academy is a success when they see how the ethos develops within the academy and they see examination results in future years.

Tony Brookes
Headteacher Thorne Grammar School (1987-2002)

Academy received encouraging report.

Goole - Howden – Thorne Courier June 16 2005

TRINITY Academy, part of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation family of schools will open in Thorne in September.

Another school sponsored by the Foundation, The King’s Academy in South Middlesbrough, recently received a very encouraging report by Ofsted inspectors.

The school is not to be confused with Unity City Academy, also in Middlesbrough.

Unity has been placed into special measures by Ofsted as a result of its inspection and has been the subject of much media coverage.

I wish to make it clear that Unity City Academy is not sponsored by Emmanuel Schools Foundation and has no connection with The King, Academy.

With the Academy due to open soon, Thorne & Moorends may be interested to hear what Ofsted found at Trinity’s sister school.

They concluded there had been “very good” progress in establishing The King’s Academy and “satisfactory” progress in implementing plans and raising attainment.

The report noted the Academy has improved standards with the GCSE pass rate higher than the school it replaced.

The Academy, which caters for 100 children with specific learning challenges was credited for having achieved an “inclusive, harmonious and orderly community”.

The inspectors praised pupils as showing “self respect, tolerance towards others and fairness” and for being considerate to others and particularly courteous to visitors”.

The building is described as well designed and attractive and there is praise for the charity work and firm stance against bullying.

Ian Brew
Principal
Trinity Academy - Thorne.

Parents toughest school “inspectors”

Goole - Howden – Thorne Courier June 23 - 2005

Ian Brew – principle of Thorne’s soon to be opened Trinity Academy – is clearly concerned about the reputation of city academies (viewpoint June 16)

I am amazed that he needs to publicly distance his academy from Unity Academy, Middlesbrough which recently failed an Ofsted Inspection.

I have not noticed headteachers of Doncaster secondary schools distancing themselves from local comprehensive schools which failed inspections let alone those 100 miles away.

Your readers should be aware that Trinity’s sister King’s Academy has not had a full demanding Ofsted inspection like Unity Academy. Ofsted has only issued an interim report on King’s.

It is not totally positive criticising weak day-to-day planning and a narrow range of teaching methods which left pupils bored in some lessons.

What is of more concern is that King’s Academy permanently excluded (expelled) 28 pupils in its first year of operation, more than ten times the average for English secondary schools.

In contrast Thorne Grammar School’s latest Ofsted report (2003)stated that permanent exclusions was only imposed for “entirely appropriate reasons after working intensively with the individuals concerned and their families”.

Support from parents was not high during the public consultation about the academy to replace Thorne Grammar School with only 18 parents expressing an opinion in favour.

Parents have not been consulted about the religious ethos of the academy, the curriculum, the dress code and the draconian sanctions policy (expulsion for smoking twice etc).

All of these have been imposed from outside by the sponsors – the Emmanuel Schools Foundation – along with the unnecessary removal of Thorne Youth Centre from the academy site.

Mr Brew should realise that Thorne/Moorends is a long way from Middlesbrough and that he and his academy will be judged by the pupils and parents of Thorne/Moorends long before Ofsted inspectors darken his doors.

Tony Brookes
(Headmaster Thorne Grammar School 1987 – 2002)
Fieldside - Thorne.

Club should stay

Goole - Howden – Thorne Courier July 7 2005

Thorne Youth Club will close this month and the building will be demolished.

The reason is that the Emmanuel School’s Foundation (formally Vardy Foundation) insists that the club is removed from its site when Thorne Grammar School closes in July to be replaced by Trinity Academy.

There is adequate space for the youth club to stay.

It could be fenced off and remain independent of the academy site but must go to satisfy the sponsors.

Doncaster Lea hoped to re-site the youth club in the old Thorne Health Centre which is due to be replaced by a new building on Fieldside. The new building, however has been delayed.

Despite being aware of this for at least a year Doncaster LEA has done little to find an alternative premises.

Finally, this week it suggested the use of two temporary classrooms at the bottom of Church Balk until Christmas 2006.

These would offer totally inadequate accomadation at the site which already has parking problems which would cause unacceptable safety hazards for the club members.

Shame on Doncaster LEA and the Emmanuel Schools Trust for caring so little for the young people of Thorne.

If the Emmanuel Schools Foundation lives by its proclaimed Christian ethos and cares about the young people of Thorne it should allow Thorne Youth Club to stay.

Tony Brookes
Thorne/Moorends Town Councillor
Fieldside - Thorne.