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Section 10 Consultation-OLD2

Welcome

We are delighted that our proposed free school for years 5-11, Great Park Academy, has progressed to the pre-opening phase.  We are now required to undertake a public consultation.   Great Park Academy will open in a purpose-built temporary block on the Gosforth Academy site.  The permanent academy will be located on a site close to the SAGE building on Newcastle Great Park (subject to planning permission).  The planned opening date is September 2021 for the first sixty Year 5 students, growing year on year to full capacity of 1200.  The school will replicate the outstanding provision offered by the Gosforth Academy founding school.  We look forward to listening to your views, in order to provide parents/ carers and the community we serve with the best school possible.

Hugh Robinson

CEO, Gosforth Group

New Teaching Block LC-S 1

Our vision - ‘Create Your Future’

‘Create your future’ encapsulates our purpose as a Multi Academy Trust: to educate, support and nurture all of our students so they can achieve their potential and fulfil their ambitious aspirations.

The vision is shared across all schools within Gosforth Group and is reflected in every aspect of school life.

What can you expect from Great Park Academy?

Our principal aim is to encourage high expectations and high standard of achievement, both academic and personal.  Our values embrace honesty, trust, reliability, creativity, respect for the legitimate rights of others, care for the vulnerable members of society, regard for the environment and kindness towards other people.

We believe that a safe, calm, friendly, disciplined atmosphere, in which hard work and cooperation are respected, is the best way to promote these values.

The Great Park Academy will, as its central mission, focus on ensuring that young people enjoy access to a truly inspirational academy that will mirror the success of other outstanding institutions in the Gosforth Group. 

Our new school will be dynamic and diverse – demonstrating a clear energy and purpose where all students are valued, regardless of their background or ability.  We pride ourselves on our comprehensive intake and our inclusive approach.

At Great Park Academy we will foster the progress of children as global citizens as well as members of the Gosforth Group community.  These core values will be communicated through a focussed assembly programme, outstanding teaching and learning, and PHSE study.  We will retain a firm emphasis on academic progress and attainment at the school, focusing on high aspirations and a wide, varied and accurately targeted curriculum to create appropriate, closely tailored pathways for all pupils.

Our praise code delivers a clear discipline system as well as significant rewards for the majority of pupils who behave and work to the high standards that we expect of them.  This system of sanction and reward has equity at its core; it demands that all students will be treated in the same way, regardless of difference or background. The pastoral care will be exceptional, with dedicated teams dealing quickly and effectively with issues of safeguarding and care for the whole child.  Active community and parental involvement, for example, will be encouraged and a wide range of extra-curricular activities will be offered through activity weeks and school trips.

The primary focus at the Great Park Academy will be to instil a lifelong love of learning, encouraging pupils to be confident, hard-working and ambitious, regardless of background.  Mentoring activities will be underpinned by a key focus on ‘character education’.  We want to produce aspirational, confident people who are active and reflective contributors to the communities, local and global, that they belong to.

Why does Newcastle need a new secondary school?

Forecasts for the demand for middle and high school places within Newcastle upon Tyne indicate a significant shortfall of places across the city.  Great Park Academy will not only address this demand for places but will also replicate the outstanding provision of the Trust, for young people in the area.

Please note this consultation is not related to any building or planning applications surrounding the new school; it is solely to consult on whether appropriate persons support the Trust to enter into a Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State for Education to run Great Park Academy.  There will be a further consultation on site layout ahead of the planning application.

Admissions process

The admission policy, detailing how people can apply, how places will be allocated in the event of oversubscription, and how people can appeal against any decisions can be found on our website. www.greatparkacademy.org.uk/admissions

More information about the School Admissions Code can be found on the Government website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2

The consultation process

We would like to hear from all the community in the coming weeks to help inform the Secretary of State for Education’s decision on whether to enter into a funding agreement with Gosforth Group.

We want to listen to your comments and act on any feedback to ensure our school is the best it can be and meets the needs of the community we serve.

You can give us feedback in a number of ways:

  • visit our website at www.greatparkacademy.org.uk and complete the online consultation questionnaire, or
  • return by email to S10consultation@ga.newcastle.sch.uk, or
  • by post to Great Park Academy, Free School Consultation, Gosforth Academy, Knightsbridge, Great North Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 2JH, or
  • submit a question through our online message facility available on the Great Park Academy website.

We will record all views that are shared with us during the formal consultation window which runs between Monday 9 November 2020 and Monday 7 December 2020.

If you are interested in applying for a school place or would like to hear more about how you can support us please do get in touch.