A BEACON of ideas is set to make its way through one Ipswich school to light the way for a new academy.

Chantry High School will open as an academy in September.

Earlier this year it emerged that the school had been granted ministerial approval to be sponsored.

Staff and students at Chantry High joined forces with Suffolk New College and plans are now being put together for the start of the Suffolk New Academy.

To celebrate the move to academy status and give students a chance to have their say, 12 Olympic-style torches have been designed and created.

Six of the torches bear the Chantry High emblem and the other six are marked with the name of the new school, Suffolk New Academy.

Starting on Monday, the torches will tour the Mallard Way school.

Pupils will be invited to put their ideas for the future of their school into the torches and the ideas will be passed from the Chantry High torches into the Suffolk New Academy torches.

The torches were launched at a special assembly attended by Suffolk One student Emily Gentry.

Emily, who has been chosen as an official Olympic torch bearer after a heart transplant, visited Chantry High School to talk to the students.

Paula Fuge, learning family mentor, organised the assembly.

She said: “In the torches they can put any burning questions they want to ask Mr Fell (headteacher) about the school in general or the new academy.”

One of the things students will give feedback on is plans for new enrichment sessions, which will be running once a fortnight from September.

The sessions aim to give the youngsters a chance to take part in different activities such as photography, gardening, dance or crafts. Once the ideas are collected, taster sessions will be organised.