PUBLICISING THE ACADEMY NEW-BUILD

The Drapers' Academy team headed up by the Principal (designate) Matthew Slater have since January been working out of a shop in Harold Hill's principal shopping centre.  

Not only has it been a good office space but, as it is right in the centre of the community, it provides a very good focus for individuals and families to drop in and find out more about Drapers' Academy. 

It's also a great place to publicise good news.  To help get the story over that the Academy new-build had the go ahead Barbara Abbott, who acts as Matthew's PA, office manager and general point of contact in the office, went ahead and commissioned a banner to hang across the shop front.

It looks really impressive.  It just goes to show that if you have a good story tell it big!

Incidentally a supportive story in the local press:

The Romford Recorder
http://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/content/havering/recorder/news/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=newsRomford&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsromford&itemid=WeED13%20Aug%202010%2010%3A06%3A00%3A693 

The sign has ben recyced and since early September has been tied to the railings in front of Drapers' Academy South Building.

Sign recycled on front fence of Drapers' Academy
(Photograph Liveeryman Sophie Williams-Thomas)

DRAPERS' ACADEMY: WE GET THROUGH!

The Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios architect's Model of the Academy looking from the east.  In the foreground is the all-weather pitch.  The white block is the proposed new building for Pyrgo Priory Primary School.  The Drapers' Academy buildings are to the right.  The design is the traditional quadrangle with a design that allows the maximum number of classroms to look out across the exceptional green-belt site.
(Thanks to Liveryman Sophie Williams Thomas for this photgraph)

I was contacted this morning by our project lead in the Department of Education telling us we were in that small group of academies, 44 in total, that have been given the go ahead to re-start our new-build programme with our original grant. I think she was as pleased as I was with the news.

I was told to wait the formal announcement from Michael Gove and this appeared in a form of a letter around 5.00pm this evening.

This is a huge relief. I was not looking forward to the dispriting work we would have had to do had we been turned down or asked to re-negotiate. Now we can devote our energies entirely to getting things done.

We have, of course, lost a month while the Department has considered our case and moving work rapidly up to speed again in the middle of August is going to take some doing.

However everyone involved is very willing. It is a real boost that our ambition to transform education on Harold Hill can now go ahead as planned. Also as we have all worked together to make the case to keep our project going I think we can all take credit for this success.

Now on to signing the contract for the new-build as soon as possible and opening in September in the old buildings as a temporary home while the new academy is built.