Sandown Bay Academy

History

The main school was established in 1970 when the former Sandown Grammar and Fairway Secondary Modern schools merged to form Sandown High School. In 2005, it gained status as a sports college.

As part of the reorganisation of the education system on the Isle of Wight, Academies Enterprise Trust was successful in their bid against Innovative Schools and East Wight Educational Trust to take over the school. Sandown Bay Academy was formed in 2011 on the main school site and the site of former Sandham Middle School, which was then called North School. The age range was extended so that the Academy became a 11-18 school.

The last headteacher of Sandown High School and first Principal of Sandown Bay Academy was John Bradshaw. The Principal of Sandown Bay Academy from Sept 2012 until November 2013 was Shaheen Khan Jones. She was replaced by Eric Jackson who was Principal until Sept 2015, when Claire Charlemagne took over.

Academic standards

In an OFSTED inspection on 17 Jan 2013 Sandown Bay Academy was placed in Special Measures due to inadequate standards. On the 21st March 2013 the Department for Education wrote to the Academies Enterprise Trust complaining about the "unacceptably low" academic standards at Sandown Bay Academy. A spokesman for AET responded to Lord Nash's concern's by stating “We have full confidence that with the new leadership arrangements, and the continued efforts and commitment of staff and students, Sandown Bay Academy will move to a higher level"

However OFSTED then went on to conclude that the Academy was not making fast enough progress in Oct 2013 and there was a change of Principal. David Fuller, speaking on behalf of Academies Enterprise Trust said that Mr Eric Jackson had been appointed as a new Principal to raise standards, and that

This is an improving school, with some encouraging results in the summer. But, there have been a number of challenges we have faced that have required attention. The pace of change has not been what we would have wanted, which is why we have taken the action we have...

The MP Andrew Turner said "I have had a lot of parents coming to me and complaining, worrying what the future holds for their children," he said. "Lots are applying to a particular school on the island, but that school won't have enough room for them all."

By 19 Jan 2015 the Academy had improved its GCSE standards and OFSTED graded it as 'requires improvement. However the GCSE results in 2015 were still lower than the results achieved by the predecessor school in 2010. In that year the school achieved 48% 5 GCSEs A-C (including English and Maths) which was only 6% lower than the national average for England as a whole at that time. As a result, in the November 2015 inspection, OFSTED concluded that the school was "not taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement"

OFSTED in November 2015 expressed concerns about Sixth Form teaching, stating

A-level results for 2015 in Years 12 and 13 were disappointing in some subjects, including some unexpected ‘U’ grades for mathematics in Year 12. You have analysed the results and identified that weak teaching and curriculum planning led to gaps in pupils’ knowledge and preparation for their A-level examinations

The following table indicates the way that A level results have declined year on year as follows

OFSTED initially spoke positively about the improvements in the Academy under the leadership of Eric Jackson during 2014 and early 2015 but by November 2015 it was being stated by the OFSTED inspector that "The pace of improvement in the academy has been too slow. Recommendations made at the previous positive monitoring inspection visit in January 2015 have not been acted on urgently or sharply enough"

The role of the Sponsor

Academies Enterprise Trust support for Academies at the local level is led by the AET Regional Director of Education (known as a RDE). The 2014 OFSTED report about AET explained that ‘some academy leaders said that there was too much variability in the support and challenge offered by Regional Directors employed by AET.' AET as a whole was criticised because “too many pupils in the Trust are not receiving a good enough education.” Focusing specifically upon Sandown Bay Academy, OFSTED stated in November 2015

The trust has usefully commissioned an associate senior leader to support the academy with teaching and learning,...However... Trust leaders have an overgenerous view of the performance of the academy and the pace of improvement...There are crucial gaps in the support provided for the academy, including strategies to improve the management of behaviour and reduce the number of fixed-term exclusions

At the time of the 2015 OFSTED inspections, the AET Regional Director of Education for Sandown Bay Academy was Elizabeth (Libby) Nicholas. At that time Beverley Perin was chairing the management board to raise standards at Sandown Bay Academy. Beverley Perin was a senior executive of AET and as Director of Challenge and Intervention she was responsible for leading the team of AET staff who intervene to support Academies across the Academies Enterprise Trust network. Responding to OFSTED's concerns about the pace of improvement at Sandown Bay Academy Beverely Perin stated “The Trust will continue to support the academy.”

Popular culture

The 1973 box office hit That'll Be the Day, starring David Essex, Rosemary Leach and Ringo Starr, was filmed on the Isle of Wight, particularly at Sandown High School, Shanklin beach and in Wroxall.

Notable alumni