Five Islands Academy
{{Short description|Academy in the Isles of Scilly, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox school
| name = The Five Islands Academy
| image = Five Islands Academy.jpg
| image_size =
| coordinates = {{coord|49.9125|-6.305|type:edu_region:GB_dim:100|format=dec|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = Cornwall#England#United Kingdom
| motto = Ethical, Excellence, Equity, Empathy, Evolution, Endurance
| established = 2002
| closed =
| type = Academy
| religious_affiliation = Church of England
| president =
| head_label =
| head = Rachel Gibb
| r_head_label =
| r_head =
| chair_label = Chair
| chair = Jeremy Brown
| founder =
| specialist =
| address = Carn Gwaval, Church Road,
| city = St Mary's
| county = Isles of Scilly
| country = England
| postcode = TR21 0NA
| local_authority = Council of the Isles of Scilly
| ofsted = yes
| urn = 144638
| staff =
| enrolment = 259
| gender = Mixed
| lower_age = 3
| upper_age = 16
| houses = Atlantic and Celtic
| colours = {{colorbox|blue}}{{colorbox|white}} Blue and White
| publication =
| free_label_1 =
| free_1 =
| free_label_2 =
| free_2 =
| free_label_3 =
| free_3 =
| website = {{official website|http://www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk}}
}}
Five Islands Academy, formerly Five Islands School, is the first{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} federated school in the United Kingdom, providing primary and secondary education for children from 3 to 16 at five sites in the Isles of Scilly.{{Cite web|title=The Five Islands Academy - GOV.UK|url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/144638|access-date=2022-01-01|website=get-information-schools.service.gov.uk|language=en}} As of May 2022, the headteacher is Rachel Gibb, and the Chair of the Local Academy Committee is Jeremy Brown.{{Cite web |title=Governance {{!}} Five Islands Academy |url=https://www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk/governance-1/ |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk}}{{Cite web |title=Who's Who {{!}} Five Islands Academy |url=https://www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk/whos-who/ |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk}}
History
{{COI|section|date=April 2022}}
Image:Carn Thomas Secondary School, St. Mary's.jpg
The secondary school and four primary schools were formerly five separate schools. While the smaller schools were praised by inspectors, the two larger schools on St Mary's were judged as inadequate. In response, the government forced a fresh start as a federated school, which opened in April 2002 and subsequently the other off islands bases were also federated.
An inspection in June and July 2003 again found the standard of education at the St Mary's sites to be inadequate, and the school was placed in special measures until 2005.
Under a succession of heads, the school had become a successful and cohesive federation, judged "outstanding" by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in 2007.{{ofsted|133554|The Five Islands School}}, Office for Standards in Education.{{cite web
| title = Case study: Five Islands school, Scilly
| publisher = Cambridge Education
| url = http://www.camb-ed.com/Localandnationalgovernment/Casestudies/FiveIslandsschoolScilly.aspx
| access-date = 14 October 2010
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100905045827/http://www.camb-ed.com/Localandnationalgovernment/Casestudies/FiveIslandsschoolScilly.aspx
| archive-date = 5 September 2010
| url-status = dead
}}
In 2008, the school was given funding of £13 million to build a new 3–16 school complex on a site adjacent to the existing Carn Gwaval primary school.{{cite news
| title = Scillies school to get £13m makeover
| work = Western Morning News | date = 30 August 2008
| url = http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Scillies-school-13m-makeover/story-11728204-detail/story.html
| access-date = 15 February 2016
}} This development took place 2010–11 and opened in time for the 2011–12 school year, which resulted in the secondary school moving permanently away from the Carn Thomas site, as well as the primary pupils at Carn Gwaval also moving into the new neighbouring school complex. The former primary school building was modernised and extended, becoming the island's main indoor sports and fitness centre. The old secondary school, at Carn Thomas, was demolished in the winter of 2016/2017.{{Cite web|date=2015-08-19|title=Council Reveals Plans For Old School Demolition|url=http://www.scillytoday.com/2015/08/19/council-reveals-plans-for-old-school-demolition/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Scilly Today}}
In the May of 2012, the then incumbent head teacher, Bryce Wilby, was suspended after allegations of financial irregularities, allegations which he strongly denied. The NCTL Panel that hears evidence of Teacher Misconduct said that the evidence from the Council’s auditors following Wilby’s 2012 suspension was “wholly unreliable.” after an Independent Forensic Auditor concluded the evidence was fabricated.{{Cite web |date=2015-07-06 |title=Case Against Scilly's Former School Head Teacher Thrown Out |url=http://www.scillytoday.com/2015/07/06/case-against-scillys-former-school-head-teacher-thrown-out/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Scilly Today}}{{Cite web |date=2015-07-10 |title=Council Tight Lipped On Former Head Teacher Ruling |url=http://www.scillytoday.com/2015/07/10/council-tight-lipped-on-former-head-teacher-ruling/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Scilly Today}}{{Cite web |date=2015-07-10 |title=Councillor Holding Public Meeting To Discuss Wilby Case |url=http://www.scillytoday.com/2015/07/13/councillor-holding-public-meeting-to-discuss-wilby-case/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Scilly Today}}
In the autumn of 2012, Ofsted downgraded the schools status to “requires improvement”, citing how leadership and management at the school “requires improvement”.{{Cite news|date=2013-01-23|title=Five Islands School on the Isles of Scilly downgraded by Ofsted|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-21158232|access-date=2022-01-20}} Later, in 2015, the case against Wilby regarding improper conduct was thrown out. His wife stated that they would take legal action against the Council of the Isles of Scilly.{{Cite news |date=2015-07-08 |title=Bryce Wilby: Improper conduct case thrown out |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-33438986 |access-date=2022-04-18}}
Wilby continued to liaise with the DfE {{Cite web |date=2013-03-25 |title=Government Wants Scilly's School To Become Academy Within 18 Months |url=http://www.scillytoday.com/2013/03/25/government-want-scillys-school-to-become-academy-within-18-months/ |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Scilly Today}} and in 2016, the secondary school was placed into special measures, which prompted questions over which academy trust would take it on, due to the schools geographic isolation.{{Cite web|date=2016-12-03|title=Five Islands School on Scilly in special measures needs sponsor|url=https://schoolsweek.co.uk/isles-of-scillys-only-secondary-school-placed-in-special-measures-what-now/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=schoolsweek.co.uk|language=en-GB}}
Previously a voluntary controlled school administered by the Council of the Isles of Scilly, in January 2019 Five Islands School converted to academy status and was renamed The Five Islands Academy. The school is now sponsored by the Leading Edge Academies Partnership (LEAP).{{Cite web|last=scillynowandthen|date=2017-03-04|title=Academy sponsor found for Five Islands School|url=https://www.thisisscillynews.com/single-post/2017/03/04/academy-sponsor-found-for-five-islands-school|access-date=2022-01-20|website=thisisscillynews|language=en}}
In July 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visited the school on a tour of the South West.{{Cite web|date=2021-07-20|title=Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visit Isles of Scilly on second day of royal tour|url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-07-20/duke-and-duchess-of-cornwall-visit-isles-of-scilly-on-second-day-of-royal-tour|access-date=2022-01-20|website=ITV News|language=en}}
Sites
Secondary education (up to GCSE) is provided only on the most populous island of St Mary's. There, it was based at the Carn Thomas site, on the eastern edge of Hugh Town, on the road to Porth Mellon, but in 2011 relocated to a new school complex at Carn Gwaval, adjacent to an existing primary base there, between Hugh Town and Old Town. Secondary pupils from the other islands are given free board at Mundesley Boarding House during the school week, returning home at the weekends and holidays.{{cite web
| title = The Five Islands School
| publisher = Council of the Isles of Scilly
| url = http://www.scilly.gov.uk/education/schools/school.htm
| access-date = 25 December 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090117233923/http://www.scilly.gov.uk/education/schools/school.htm
| archive-date = 17 January 2009
| url-status = dead
}}
The four primary education bases are at Carn Gwaval, near Old Town — for St Mary's pupils; on Tresco, near Old Grimsby — for pupils from that island and the neighbouring island of Bryher; on St Martin's; and on St Agnes.{{cite web|url=http://www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk/contact-us/|title=Contact Us|publisher=Five Islands Academy|access-date=2018-12-07}} The Carn Gwaval base has been combined since 2011 with the sole secondary education base.
{{Asof|2003}} the main campus had 117 secondary and 111 primary pupils, and the Tresco, St Agnes, and St Martin's bases had 24, 7, and 6 students, respectively."[https://web.archive.org/web/20030724090951/http://scilly.gov.uk/education/education.php Education]." Council of the Isles of Scilly. 24 July 2003. Retrieved on 8 December 2018. These enrollment figures are lower than the respective England-wide averages."[https://web.archive.org/web/20021014143342/http://www.scilly.gov.uk/education/education.php Education]." Council of the Isles of Scilly. 14 October 2002. Retrieved on 8 December 2018. "Numbers of pupils in each centre are small in comparison to National Averages."
=Boarding facilities=
The boarding facility at St. Mary's is known as the Mundesley Boarding House, accommodating year 7 onwards during the school week, with students returning home by boat every weekend.{{cite web|url=https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/thefiveislandsschoolscilly/UploadedDocument/c8301c232b804ada9e27147828b53aa0/introduction-to-mundesley.pdf|title=Introduction to Mundesley|publisher=Five Islands School|access-date=2018-12-07}} The boarding building includes the original house and the extension for boarders. The original house has the dining room, kitchen, and living room on the ground floor and the house parents' flat on the first floor, while the extension has the boys' hostel and the clinic on the ground floor and the girls' hostel on the first floor. The boarding house is funded by the Department of Education, however, parents of the students residing at the house have opted to make voluntary contributions towards the upkeep of the boarding house.{{Cite web|title=Boarding - Mundesley House {{!}} Five Islands Academy|url=https://www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk/boarding-mundesley-house/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Cornwall|Schools}}
- [http://www.fiveislands.scilly.sch.uk/ Five Islands Academy]
- {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://fisonline.org.uk/|title=Five Islands School}}
{{Schools in Cornwall}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Primary schools in the Isles of Scilly
Category:Secondary schools in the Isles of Scilly
Category:Church of England primary schools in the Diocese of Truro
Category:Boarding schools in Cornwall
Category:Educational institutions established in 2002
Category:2002 establishments in England
Category:Church of England secondary schools in the Diocese of Truro