Schools minister given tour of Peterborough school

Mr Bristow and Nick Gibb, MP for Bogner Regis and Littlehampton as well as Minister of State for Schools Standards, were given a tour of Queen Katharine Academy in Walton on Wednesday morning.

Also present was Principal Lynn Mayes and CEO of the Thomas Deacon Education Trust (TDET) Julie Taylor.

Mr Gibb was given a chance to see the learning facilities on offer at the academy as well as the chance to speak to some of the school’s sixth form students.

The school has made great progress since 2017 when control officially was passed from the Comberton Academy Trust to TDET and the school was rebranded from The Voyager Academy. A partnership between The Voyager Academy and TDET was first formed in 2016.

The school is now rated good by Ofsted after being placed under special measures in its previous guise.

In 2020, 24 percent of the school’s cohort achieved a strong pass (Level 5+) in English and Maths, up from 9.5 percent in 2019.

A spokesperson from TDET said: “It was an honour to welcome Nick Gibb and Paul Bristow to the academy. Their visit was a great opportunity for our staff and students to show off the high quality teaching, learning and support that make us an inclusive centre of educational excellence.

“We could not be prouder of the academy’s achievements and thoroughly enjoyed demonstrating the amazing things that can happen when local schools come together to support one another.”

Mrs Taylor added: “I was so pleased to show the Minister for School Standards how we raised standards through local collaboration and support. Our children and staff have a school to be proud of. Thank you to Mr Gibb and Mr Bristow for your support.”

Mr Bristow said: “I took the Schools Minister to the Queen Katharine Academy as I wanted to show what a special place Peterborough is.

“How the school has turned around is impressive but it was the students we met who talked about their ambitions that made me proud of Peterborough.”