Team heralds start of new chapter at Bognor school

Their return to the classrooms at Edward Bryant School last week marked its first day as a converter academy.

The London Road school’s Ofsted-recognised status as outstanding has enabled its governors to use the government’s new education law and to take charge of its standards and budget.

It has become the first primary school around the town to become an academy and only the third in West Sussex.

Headteacher Cathy Williams said: “We are all very excited about this next phase in the life of the school. On a day-to-day basis, staff, parents and children will notice very little difference.

“There is no change to our uniform, no change to daily routines, no change to teaching and learning and the school’s name is virtually the same.

“Over the next few months, however, we hope to make some improvements in efficiency in some support services as the school will be commissioning these directly and will have more say over them.

“Our aim is always to keep improving our school for the benefit of the children. So, any changes we do make will be to support this end.”

The school has 417 pupils aged 4-11, the equivalent of 22 full-time teachers and an annual budget of just over £1.5m.

Edward Bryant School has joined Bognor Regis Town Hall-based education charity, Peaceworks, to form a new trust to manage the school in place of West Sussex County Council.

The chief executive of the new trust, called Schoolsworks, is Peaceworks’ director and long-time Edward Bryant governor, Chris Seaton. “We have mixed feelings about leaving local authority control,” said Chris.

“West Sussex have been a good support to us over many years but, in the current climate of cuts and with the declining level of services we now receive, we felt now was the time to act to convert to an academy.”

The trust was committed to Edward Bryant’s high standards and happy school atmosphere.