New Shrewsbury Academy has real buzz, says head

Shrewsbury Academy opened its doors on Wednesday, marking a new dawn for education in the town, with the school replacing the former Grange Secondary School and Sundorne School and Sports College.

Melanie Hooson is the new head at the academy which welcomed 183 new year sevens through the doors – all wearing the school's new uniform with blazers and ties, which replace the sweatshirts previously worn by pupils at Sundorne and the Grange.

Mrs Hooson said there had been a buzz about staff and pupils in the corridors of the former Corndon Crescent campus, which will be the main school site, for the first morning of the new era.

"I am delighted that the school has opened today," she said. "We are starting from a very strong position in terms of where the Grange and Sundorne were before the merger.

"The year sevens are very excited and looking incredibly smart, wearing their new uniforms with pride."

Mrs Hooson, 38, was previously a director of a teaching school in the Manchester area.

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The new head said that it has not only been the pupils excited about the change with staff eager to start work at Shrewsbury Academy.

She said: "The staff were in early because they have been really looking forward to seeing the year sevens arrive in their new uniforms.

"It has been great, we've had lots of smiling faces and they are proud to be back, looking at the new signage and the school has developed over the summer."

The new school will be looking to continue with the successful elements of the Grange and Sundorne according to its new head.

She said: "What both the schools have been doing well is planning for this for over a year.

"We have gone into the fine detail in terms of planning for the new GCSE specifications. We are well prepared for the new qualifications and all the challenges that brings."

Mrs Hooson said the academy would be looking to build on the strengths of its predecessors.

She said: "We know the strengths of the previous schools are that they were very caring, supportive communities, that had good relationships with parents.

"The students were supported well pastorally and that will continue to be a key strength here at Shrewsbury Academy.

"For 2016 our focus will be on high standards and expectations and academic rigour that will go hand-in-hand with fantastic pastoral support and ensuring our students are successful in their school career and beyond."

Mrs Hooson said that the effect of the new uniform, which was selected by students in a vote last year, had been immediately obvious.

She said: "Expectations have risen in terms of the uniform and conduct, and the students have already risen to that challenge. The uniform is something that makes you feel part of something, a community, and we all want to belong to something.

"The year 10s have turned up today and they walk differently, the way they are conducting themselves with a sense of pride and responsibility."

Asked about her vision for the future of the school, Mrs Hooson said: "We want to be a true centre of excellence that helps students both academically but also with qualities and values, they need to be successful after they leave school.

"We also want to be a school that students and the community are proud to be a part of."

There are a total of 830 students at the school, with all year seven pupils now starting at the Corndon Crescent site.

Currently there are year eight, nine, 10 and 11 pupils at the Grange site as well but from next year the school will only have year nine and 11 pupils as the year 10 pupils transfer over to Sundorne to begin their GCSEs.