Islington's new school - St Mary Magdalene Academy is set to open its doors in 2007 after Islington Council's planning committee gave the exciting plans the go ahead last night (Tuesday 27 September 2005.) <br><br>“St Mary Magdalene's has passed its last major hurdle and I’m pleased that work on the new school will begin very soon. The people of Islington have been campaigning for a Church of England secondary school for many years and I’m pleased that the council has been instrumental in securing one.”<br><br>“The quality of education in Islington has improved dramatically over the last 5 years. The Academy will add greater choice for parents and students, while building on improvements already made. I’m delighted that it will become part of Islington’s family of schools.<br><br>“We are also consulting on ambitious plans to rebuild or significantly refurbish all our other schools to continue to improve the standard and quality of education for young people in the borough,” says Councillor James Kempton, executive member for children.<br><br>The name – St Mary Magdalene Academy – has been chosen following extensive consultation which showed the importance of that name to the local community. <br><br>The St Mary Magdalene Academy is being sponsored by the Church of England through the London Diocesan Board for Schools. The primary school will continue to operate until the end of August 2007, with the new St Mary Magdalene Academy set to open in September 2007. <br><br>The academy will incorporate the St Mary Magdalene Primary School (which currently occupies part of the site earmarked for the new school), and so will be one of a handful of all-through schools providing education for pupils from the ages of 5 to 19. In addition, there will be a 52-place Early Year's Centre on the site.<br><br>All academies have a curriculum specialism and this one will specialise in Humanities and Global Citizenship.<br><br>Notes to editors<br><br>The school has four new buildings along with playgrounds and landscaping. The development would be phased to allow the existing primary school and early years centre to remain operational during the overall construction. The first phase of the works would be accommodation for primary and early years education, and the central building of the academy, with the other buildings being constructed in stage 2.<br><br>Total costs for the development are likely to be over £30million, of which £2million will come from sponsors and the rest from central Government. Fielden Clegg Bradley Architects are the architects for the project. <br><br>Pupils who are part of the primary department of the new school will have the right to transfer automatically to the secondary department. That will leave around 150 places for pupils from other primary schools. Of those places 70% will be known as ‘community places’ and 30% will be ‘foundation’ places with priority going to those who attend other Church of England schools in Islington.<br><br>Over 5,000 questionnaires were circulated to stakeholders including parents, staff, governors, local residents and neighboring schools during the initial consultation period before Christmas. There was also a number of public meetings to discuss the proposals. Over 600 questionnaires commenting on the proposals were completed and returned. Some of the key results of the consultation were:<br><br>• 60% of the responses were in favour of establishing the new academy<br>• 52% supported the proposal that the new academy should provide education for pupils aged 5-19<br>• 49% supported the proposal that the academy should provide learning and recreational facilities for the community<br>• 88% opted to keep the name ‘St Mary Magdalene’<br><br>During August 2005 (11 Augustwe asked residents for their views on the plans and submissions and comments received as a result of the consultation and public meeting were used in the council's planning report.<br><br>The council has worked to balance complex issues that relate to balancing the need for a secondary school and accessible modern primary school and minimisisng the impact on residents. This includes issues around loss of sunlight, day light, privacy and designing out crime. <br><br>The proposals are also subject to a detailed Section 106 agreement. <br><br>Academies are all-ability schools established by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups working with partners from the local community and the Department for Education and Skills. Academies are located in areas of disadvantage. They either replace one or more existing schools facing challenging circumstances or are established where there is a need for additional school places. The Department expects academies to form part of the Local Education Authority's strategic plans to increase diversity in secondary provision. 17 academies are already open and the Government hopes to have 200 open or planned by 2010.
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009