Dear GA families

As you are well aware, Gloucester Academy has now been a part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust family of schools for just over 1 year.  Prior to this there was a very long history of letting down the local community with unacceptable outcomes based on low expectations of what students really could achieve.  Gloucester Academy was previously the 17th worst school, out of approx 4000, in England for outcomes, and something had to be done to turn this around quickly.

We have been determined to break this cycle of underperformance and have worked tirelessly to this end.  It has been an incredibly fast improvement that is a reflection of your support and ambition for your child which we are now matching, and we thank you for this.  It has been challenging at times, but you have more than met this challenge.  Every single member of our school community should be incredibly proud that we have an incredibly bright future ahead of us, and many exciting plans going forward.

Ethos

You may not always agree with our decisions but we can guarantee you that we always make decisions based on our experiences of previously working in excellent schools, research and local needs.  Expectations are clearly published well in advance, and this brings with it a liberating effect for students to achieve their very best and climb the highest of mountains to the very best universities and professions.  We have already massively improved outcomes, introduced disruption free learning, seen a development of confident and articulate students, and a school that both staff and students are now proud of.

Staffing Update

As ever at this time of year, we are always sad to have to say goodbye to some members of staff.  We wish them the very best and thank them for their commitment, service and hard work whilst at GA.  To support our ambitions for your child, it is also incredibly important that you know we have recruited some very talented staff to replace those leaving and to maintain the current momentum of rapid improvement, and are fully staffed for September.

Rewards visits

It really has been a joy to see all students rewarded, at various levels, for this hard work this year. From Ninja Warrior, Inflatables on the school fields, Cinema experiences to sumo wrestling suits. This really does emphasise the culture of ‘work hard. be kind’.

Have a great summer

Finally, from everyone here at GA may we wish you a very happy and safe summer break, and thanks once again for your support in helping your child to climb their own personal mountain to the best university or profession.

Yours sincerely

Mr Jonathan Heap

Headteacher