The Northumberland Church of England Academy in Hirst,
Lynemouth and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea - Putting the Learner First
Programme (PLF)
The Northumberland Church of England Academy opened its doors to
pupils on Wednesday 9 September as part of the County Council's
Putting the Learner First Programme (PLF) to improve educational
opportunities for children and young people in the county.
Recommendations to invest £48m in a new 3-18 all-age Academy in
Hirst, Lynemouth and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea were approved by
Northumberland County Council chiefs on 10 December 2008. The
County Council’s Executive gave the go-ahead following a
comprehensive review of the proposals, including listening to
representations from parents, schools and others.
The creation of The Northumberland Church of England Academy,
sponsored by the Church of England and the Duke of Northumberland,
will provide significant opportunities for parents to apply for
places for their children in the new Academy from nursery age
through to sixth form. Full-time pupils already enrolled in
schools in the Hirst Partnership have been guaranteed a
place in the new school.
Click here to access The Northumberland
Church of England Academy site.
Schools in the Academy
The 10 schools in the Hirst Partnership and
one other school closed in August 2009 and re-opened as
The Northumberland Church of England Academy in September 2009,
with a specialism in Design and the Built Environment. The
closing schools were are:
- AshingtonAlexandra First School
- CoulsonPark First School
- Hawthorn CE VC First School
- LynemouthFirst School
- Newbiggin-by-the-SeaMoorside First
School
- Welbeck First School
- Windsor First School
- Newbiggin-by-the-SeaMiddle School
- Seaton Hirst CE VC Middle School
- Hirst High School
Special Educational Needs provision in The Northumberland
Church of England Academy
New facilities for a 3-19 Special Educational
Needs Unit for pupils with high dependency and complex needs at the
Hirst site will be provided, with pupils in the Special Educational
Needs unit at Abbeyfields First School in Morpeth transferring to
the Hirst site when the new facilities are ready in September
2011.
Investment in new buildings
Following a refurbishment and rebuilding
programme of £48m, The Northumberland Church of England Academy
will operate from 5 sites with the secondary element and a primary
element at Hirst and 4 further primary elements at Lynemouth,
Hawthorn, Alexandra and Newbiggin.
Of the £48m to be invested, £2m will come from
the County Council with the Department for Schools and Families and
other grants funding the remainder. The Northumberland Church
of England Academy sponsors, the Church of England and the Duke of
Northumberland, will invest £2m in a Trust Fund for the school.
Admissions into The Northumberland Church of England
Academy
The Northumberland Church of England Academy
is responsible for it's own Admissions Policy into the
school. For further information on Admissions into The
Northumberland Church of England Academy follow this
link.
