East Point Academy

History

Before September 2011, the school was known as Kirkley Community High School being administered by Suffolk County Council, before converting to academy status as part of the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET).

In December 2014, the Norfolk based Inspiration Trust formally took over the running of the academy and appointed Kevin Blakey as Principal. The main reasons (see 2014 takeover section below) behind this was the failure of the AET to move the academy out of special measures and that the IT were better geographically placed with its Norfolk base to continuously improve the academy, compared to the relative isolation under AET and its other academies. The school will be refurbished with funding from the government which was secured by the AET before it was taken over by Inspiration Trust

According to the most recent inspection in March 2015 (3 months after the IT had acquired the academy) the school leadership was rated as "good" although other criteria "require improvement". Overall the academy has improved from being rated as "Inadequate" to "Requires Improvement".

2014 Inspiration Trust takeover

In July 2014, after 3 years under the management of the AET, it was announced that the academy faced a takeover from the Norfolk-based Inspiration Trust, partly due to the academy making insufficient progress towards moving out of special measures.

A spokesman for the Department for Education (DfE) said: “We have consistently demonstrated that where we find failure we will not hesitate to take action – regardless of the type of school. We are now working closely with AET and the school to ensure pupils’ education is not disrupted.” A monitoring inspection in May 2014 pointed to a “steady improvement” in students’ attainment and progress, saying East Point was making “reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures”.

Dame Rachel de Souza, the Chief Executive of Inspiration Trust was approached by the DfE about adding the academy to its growing portfolio, believing that her trust is in a better geographic position compared to the AET, allowing for better cohesion. (At the time, the next nearest AET academy to East Point Academy was in Felixstowe) “There’s a geographic logic to the change. [East Point Academy is] 10 miles from Great Yarmouth, where we have the primary academy. I think that’s what can make the difference.”

In September, the Principal (Neil Powell) and other senior members of staff threatened to quit the Academy if the proposed takeover did materialise. This was mainly due to the disruption it would cause to the ongoing progress towards moving the academy out of special measures.

In December, Vice Principal of Thetford Academy, Kevin Blakey replaced Neil Powell as Principal, when Inspiration Trust completed the takeover. Mr. Powell cited that he will be "staying with the AET" and was installed Principal of the AET sponsored Unity City Academy in Middlesbrough in January 2015 but has since left.

Gene Simmons' Rock School

In Autumn 2005, the second series of Channel 4's Gene Simmons' Rock School was filmed at the Academy (when it was Kirkley Community High School). Auditions were held, and after much deliberation, 11 students were picked and were subsequently taught the basics of rock music by KISS bassist Gene Simmons. Simmons' eventually selected five of the students to perform as a rock group. The show culminated with the group opening for Judas Priest and Anthrax in front of 2,300 fans in LA. The lead singer of the band, Lil' Chris, was signed to RCA records.

Notable Alumni

as Kirkley Community High School

Students

Teachers

Headteachers