A SCHOOL previously in special measures has re-opened as an academy in an attempt to raise standards.
Nunsthorpe Community School received a disastrous Ofsted report in November 2011, as reported.
Now, it has re-opened as Oasis Academy Nunsthorpe, and welcomed former TV presenter Steve Chalke, the founder of Oasis Community Learning, which also runs the Wintringham and Immingham academies.
He officially cut the ribbon at the new school, and principal Mark Gyllion – who was formerly the head at Fairfield Primary School – explained it is not just the name that has changed.
"I was appointed this year. We have an academy council which has replaced the board of governors and a totally new attitude – absolutely everything has changed but the buildings," he said.
The school has already introduced a new "more rigorous" curriculum that is used in an Oldham school, rated by Ofsted as outstanding.
Mr Gyllion said: "We have totally changed our approach, moving away from a passive style of learning, in which children are simply in the room while teachers teach, like it was before.
"Now, we have introduced a teaching style in which children are actively engaged, taught to question everything inside and outside the classroom so they take the learning experience home with them."
Mr Chalke, the CEO of Oasis Community Learning – which runs 19 schools in the UK – said that the group's emphasis on "community" would be the key to improving education.
He said: "It is said that we have one education system, but we really have two. Primary, small environments where children have one or two teachers and are known, and secondary, where children suddenly become small minnows in big ponds.
"Many of our Oasis Academy Wintringham students come from Nunsthorpe and it can be a very difficult transition, so we want to try to make it easier.
"By inviting children into the school to use facilities and meet teachers in the later years of primary, we can get them slowly accustomed to what is a much bigger school and it is less of a shock.
"We put community at the heart of this, by opening up our schools to parents and neighbours so that they feel active and engaged throughout, as it is proven that children learn better when their parents are involved."
See your Grimsby Telegraph this week for an in-depth interview with Mr Chalke, and find out why he was inspired to make waves in education.
