Re-opening of academy brings celebrations to Southmere
A primary school in Bradford celebrated its official relaunch as an academy earlier this week as children took centre stage for an entertaining afternoon.
Southmere Primary Academy earned its new status in September 2014 yet only officially marked the successful changeover on Monday 16th March with dozens of guests in attendance.
Amongst the special visitors on the day was the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Mike Gibbons, who was joined by parents and other stakeholders as they were treated to a number of performances from some talented acts.
Bhangra dancers, the Southmere Street Crew and choir were all on hand to showcase their skills whilst pictures were presented to speakers from the children.
Principal Hayley Marshall, who has been head teacher for the past seven years, says the day was the perfect way to mark the beginning of the next chapter for the school.
“As with everything we do at the academy, children were at the heart of the day with some fantastic acts on show for everyone to enjoy,” she said.
“Everyone really enjoyed themselves and it just showed a glimpse of the diversity we have here at Southmere.”
Explaining what the new academy status means for the school, on top of the new welcomed uniforms for the children, Miss Marshall added: “It is a really positive move for everyone involved.
“We decided to make the change because we are an innovative school and have developed a curriculum for the pupils which will enable them to excel with more freedom and creativity.
“There is already a good standard for literacy and numeracy here, whilst arts and creativity is on the rise.
“By achieving our ‘Good’ rating from Ofsted in June 2013, it allowed us to gain the right support to make the move into an academy and everyone has responded magnificently so far.”
An academy is an independent school which is funded by the state and independent of the local authority, receiving its funding direct from central government.
Southmere became an academy as part of the Northern Education Trust.
