Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) says it remains on track to convert to an academy on 1st January 2012, thanks to hard work by governors over recent months.
Once converted, the school will be run by an academy trust instead of the local education authority, and governors have chosen to call this the ‘Olympus Academy Trust’, a name said to have been inspired by a visit to the M-Shed museum in Bristol.
Claire Emery, Chair of Governors and Dave Baker, Headteacher wrote in a letter to parents:
“Governors were keen to have a name that is not limited to Bradley Stoke but which has local significance; Olympus fulfils these requirements as it was the name of the engine which powered Concorde and was designed and built locally. Although this will be the name of the Academy Trust, the name of the school will not change.”
A new governance structure will see a Trust Board (meeting twice annually) delegating most of its powers to a separate Group Board that will meet once a term. Three Committees (Academic & Well-Being, Finance & Resources and Audit & Risk) will report to the Group Board.
Five founding trustees formally approved in July have now been joined by Bradley Stoke and South Gloucestershire Councillor Robert Jones but the school says it would like to recruit one further trustee and is seeking applications from “anyone with no previous formal connection to BSCS who possesses strategic education sector expertise as an ‘independent’ representative.
An audit of the existing trust membership has identified two areas of ‘skills, knowledge and experience’ (SKE) that are in need of strengthening. The trust is therefore looking to recruit and induct a number of new directors/governors by the end of the year. The school has put out a flyer listing the SKE areas it is looking to strengthen and invites applications from interested individuals by the deadline of 31st October.
An interesting development that has just come to light is that Dave Baker has been appointed head of Abbeywood Community School:
BSCS’s Dave Baker takes on headship at Abbeywood
Mr Baker said earlier this year that Abbeywood “don’t want to network with us at the present time”.
Could the Olympus Academy Trust end up being more than a “federation of one school” after all?
… or will the Olympus Trust be hiring out Mr Baker to Abbeywood at the going rate for an ‘Executive Headteacher’?