The first academy school to open in Northampton has been rated “good” by Ofsted for the first time.
Northampton Academy, which opened in 2004 after Lings Upper School closed, was inspected last month and a report published today has concluded teaching is good and “sometimes outstanding.”
Dilip Kadodwala, lead inspector, praised principal Anne Hill, who took over from Peter Hullah in September 2011, for her “highly effective leadership.”
The report says: “Leadership across the academy is ambitious. Governors and staff understand the academy’s motto, ’Bringing out the best in everyone’, and work hard to put this vision into practice.
“Lessons are observed regularly by leaders. They develop teaching well and provide good training for teachers at all levels of experience to continue improving their skills.”
Principal Anne Hill said: “We are very pleased with this report which recognises the significant progress Northampton Academy has made over the past few years.
“Everyone here works tirelessly to provide students with a challenging and inspiring education and so I was particularly delighted that the inspectors praised so many aspects of our teaching and learning.
“It is also great for our students to read that inspectors were impressed by their attitude to learning, their behaviour and their aspirations for themselves and the academy.
“We know what we need to do to improve even further but as this report testifies, we are well on the way to becoming an “Outstanding” school. That is our next challenge but I know that everyone at the academy; staff, parents and students believe that we can achieve it.’
Northampton Academy was opened as part of the Labour government’s education reform and received a visit from former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2007 and he described it as “one of the most amazing schools in the country”.
The school is sponsored by United Learning, an education charity which runs 21 academies.
Andy Buck, managing director of academies at United Learning, said: “This is a highly encouraging report which demonstrates that the hard work of everyone at the academy is paying dividends.
“Northampton Academy is quickly becoming the “go-to” choice for parents in Northampton and this report explains why. It is particularly pleasing for Anne Hill and the staff that so many initiatives that they have put in place have been praised.”
Conservative MP for Northampton North Michael Ellis said: “This is an excellent result for Northampton Academy.
“The school has come a long way and has worked hard to get this rating. I congratulate all the staff and pupils for this excellent achievement.”
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