Audenshaw wins academy status

Date published: 09 August 2010

Audenshaw School has won its bid to become an academy school.

It is one of the 900 schools deemed ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted to be given the go-ahead by the coalition government to acquire the status from September.

Schools will have more freedom over their schools curriculum, term times and the length of the school day, budgets, buildings, and are also free to set their own teachers’ pay and contracts.

The school is now closed for the summer holidays but headteacher Steve Turner said when making the application, that academy status would enable the 1,250-pupil school to have more control of its business from the local authority.

On the school website in an open letter to parents, Mr Turner said: “There are significant advantages to be gained for our pupils by the school becoming an academy. As the first comprehensive school in England to become Grant Maintained in 1989, the Governors have a wealth of experience in managing the strategic development of the school. Last week the Governing Body unanimously passed a motion to apply to covert to Academy Status. The Governors believe that the autonomy they would be granted by becoming an Academy would allow much greater flexibility in their governance of the school. It is their hope that the conversion will take place in September 2010.

“We will continue, to offer the broad and balanced curriculum that parents expect. The services which we use as a school, for example those for children with special needs, will continue to be provided by the school, and I believe will be further enhanced.
“As Headmaster, I fully support the actions that the Governors have taken and I believe it will further improve the education we offer to your children at Audenshaw School.," Mr Turner, Headmaster.

Teaching unions are anxious about the reduced role councils would play if most schools became academies and say there has been a lack of consultation by Audenshaw School.

The coalition government is eager to expand academies as part of its drive to decentralise power and slash bureaucracy across the public sector.