Prior to the start of the summer holidays, we received notification from the Department for Education (DfE) that we have been granted permission to go ahead with our plan to split Bishop's Primary School into five separate schools.
This exciting development, which will come into effect ready for the start of the new academic year, is the culmination of over 12 months’ worth of consultations and planning to improve our primary offer and bring each school closer to the heart of its local community. In its current format, Bishop’s Primary is one of the largest primary academies in England, with over 1,500 pupils spread across its five campuses in Ashington, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Lynemouth. Our proposal to separate the school to create five primary schools in their own right was well-received by staff, parents and the wider community, with the demerger set to bring with it a number of key benefits for our pupils; including an additional £2.5 million worth of Government funding over 10 years to support the purchase of new resources including IT equipment, books and teaching materials. Each school will also benefit from a simplified admissions process and will have its own dedicated Head Teacher, as well as support from our new Executive Head Teacher and the wider NCEA Trust. We’re very excited about the demerger and believe that this is the right step to allow us to build on the success achieved by Bishop’s as a single school, while retaining all of the positives we enjoy from working together across the Trust. Watch this space for more information coming very soon!
