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Interview: Alan McMurdo, Academy principal
THE Thomas Deacon Academy is a big deal. It's the biggest academy in the country, and by the end of this week 2,200 pupils will be sitting at its desks, ready to lay the foundations for the rest of their lives.
THE Thomas Deacon Academy is a big deal. It's the biggest academy in the country, and by the end of this week 2,200 pupils will be sitting at its desks, ready to lay the foundations for the rest of their lives.But its birth hasn't been easy. It's been nickamed "The Blancmange" because of its quirky shape. There have been rows over admissions, and it came in at 50 million, which was overbudget. And, of course, academies, which are unlike other schools in that they are independent rather than controlled by the Local Education Authority, are a political hot potato.
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Today, a new era for education in Peterborough began, as almost 4,000 pupils attended the new Voyager and Thomas Deacon Academy secondary schools.
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But despite the scepticism and the sticky patches, the headteacher, Alan McMurdo, said the past week has been "Absolutely brilliant". Staff are more than ready to welcome the pupils from John Mansfield School, Hereward Community College and Deacon's School when they stroll through the doors.
"The staff started on September 1, and we have been unpacking and showing parents and students around on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we are ready for Monday," he said. "We really believe we can offer the innovation in education that has been lacking previously in education in urban areas, and we feel we can improve on the past.
"We can benefit from our independence because it has given us freedom to innovate. For instance, the school day – the school is open between 8am and 6pm – and our approach to IT – we have one computer to every two children.
"If a child is sick or in hospital, they will be able to go on our website and learn from their beds. It can be small things that haven't been done before that will make a lot of difference, things such as PE teachers having Blackberries so they have access to their e-mails while they're teaching."
ET reporter Asha Mehta was certainly blown away when she had a sneek preview of the building a few weeks ago. She wrote: "As soon as I stepped inside and set eyes on the dazzling silver and grey atrium, my preconceptions just melted away – it was quite literally, a jaw-dropping moment.
"The sense was one of being dwarfed by this awesome space studded with coloured lights and split into six 'lobes' linked with footbridges. Wave goodbye to a maze of corridors and blackboards and welcome to the face of a 21st century learning environment – one of swipe cards, lasers on walls and illuminated showcase classrooms."
Dr McMurdo (51) hopes the academy's academic performance can do the academy's magnificent architecture justice, and the standards are already set. Fail to achieve them and the rest of the country will be watching. And so failure to achieve them isn't really an option.
By 2008, the academy wants to have 65 per cent of pupils gaining grade A to C at GCSE or equivalent, 85 per cent of youngsters leaving to appropriate education, employment or training, with 40 per cent of those going into maths and science fields, and 70 per cent of the staff-student satisfaction results coming back very positive
By 2011, it is planned that these achievements will have been built on and pushed to the next level. 100 per cent A to C grades are expected, and the bar has been raised in the other fields as well.
The academy has input from two sides, The Deacon School Trust and Perkins. The board that runs the school is made up of Dr McMurdo, two representatives from Perkins, a councillor, two parent directors who will be elected later, two directors from the Deacon Trust
Dr McMurdo said criticising the academy for Perkins' involvement is wrong.
"Perkins is a major local employer, and has had no influence on the curriculum. It has just brought a huge amount of experience in industry, which has been fantastic in terms of strategic planning."
The headteacher is aware of other academies have struggled, but pointed out that every academy is unique, and he is confident that the parents, pupils and parents of Peterborough won't be disappointed by him and his staff.
"We have a world-class facilities, and that is what we deserve in Peterborough," he said. "I am sure the majority of people will be delighted with what we have to offer. People will enjoy it or go elsewhere."
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 11 February 2012
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Light sleet
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