THE principal of The Skipton Academy has welcomed the opportunity to work with outstanding Skipton Girls High School and the Northern Star Academies Trust after money was released from the government’s school improvement fund.

The trust, which is based next to the high school, successfully applied earlier this year for emergency funding from the Strategic School Improvement Fund (SSIF) - given by the government under ‘exceptional circumstances’.

The funding will be used to help the academy, judged inadequate by Ofsted a year ago, in the next stage of its development.

Principal, Richard McManus, who since being appointed in September last year, has been working hard to make improvements in all areas of the school, said: “My staff and I are extremely excited at the opportunity to work with the Northern Star Academies Trust and Skipton Girls’ High School to help accelerate still further the improvements for young people at The Skipton Academy.

“Working collaboratively with local outstanding providers will help us develop the learning within the academy and enable our young people to achieve their potential.”

The trust is a growing partnership of primary and secondary academies serving Skipton, as well as Harrogate and Keighley.

It draws its educational excellence from the established track record of Skipton Girls’ High School, its partner academies and well established teaching school, Northern Lights Teaching School Alliance (NLTSA) and School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)).

Jenn Plews, chief executive of Northern Star Academies Trust, and executive headteacher of the high school, said ‘We are delighted to be awarded SSIF Emergency Funding to support The Skipton Academy. From this summer skilled senior leaders and specialist curriculum staff from NSAT schools, including Skipton Girls’ High School, will work to support leadership, and teaching and learning in the school. In September, new teachers, trained at Northern Lightswill also be assigned to The Skipton Academy’

Emergency funding was established in April last year as part of the Department for Education’s SSIF and can only be awarded under “exceptional circumstances.”

Martin Kelly, chairman of the Northern Star Academies Trust, said ‘We are a trust highly committed to delivering academic excellence for all the young people of North and West Yorkshire, pairing the highest quality teaching with the widest possible opportunities. We believe that all children can succeed and that by working together we can make sure that The Skipton Academy is a school of which the Skipton community can be proud. ‘