A HEADTEACHER today spoke of her delight after her school raised thousands towards a bid for specialist status. Chantry High School headteacher Anne Rickwood announced the school had met the £50,000 fund raising target needed before the government will pump hundreds of thousands of extra funding into the 1,260 pupil school.
A HEADTEACHER today spoke of her delight after her school raised thousands towards a bid for specialist status.
Chantry High School headteacher Anne Rickwood announced the school had met the £50,000 fund raising target needed before the government will pump hundreds of thousands of extra funding into the 1,260 pupil school.
Mrs Rickwood said: “I am absolutely delighted. This time last year I thought we would never get it. We contacted hundreds of firms and organisations.
“It is wonderful and I am thrilled that we have got the money we needed.”
The school is planning to specialise in humanities. If agreed by the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) Chantry High School will get up to £750,000 in extra funding during the next four years.
Speaking to The Evening Star during the half-term break, Mrs Rickwood said: “We are leading with English and we want to improve literacy, speaking and listening skills which are crucial for future employment.
“We also hope to drive up standards and exam results.”
The school is due to submit its bid on November 7 and it is expected to hear the DfES decision in February 2006.
Mrs Rickwood said: “It would mean so many more resources for our students. They deserve it.”
The school's headteacher for the last ten years, Mrs Rickwood said staff and parents had helped secure the cash needed to go with the bid.
She said: “Parents have been so supportive and the staff has worked very hard. We got about £15,000 from an anonymous charity, we raised £8,000 from donations from businesses and parents and we had a significant contribution from the specialist trust partnership fund which made it up to £50,000.”
What do you think of the school's bid for specialist status? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.
Weblinks www.chantry.suffolk.sch.uk www.schoolsnetwork.org.uk www.dfes.gov.uk
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