Morecambe High School to become academy with £3m investment

Morecambe High School will become Morecambe Bay Academy on May 1, with a £3m programme of work on the building to start straight away.
Morecambe Bay Academy Principal Victoria Michael with pupils wearing the new uniformMorecambe Bay Academy Principal Victoria Michael with pupils wearing the new uniform
Morecambe Bay Academy Principal Victoria Michael with pupils wearing the new uniform

The school, which has 1,380 pupils, will be a member of The Bay Learning Trust, a multi academy trust which includes Ripley St Thomas CE Academy in Lancaster and Carnforth High School.

Central Lancaster High School will also be joining the trust in the coming months.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Some parents, education unions and pressure groups say that academies, which are not controlled by the local authority, will ultimately put profit before pupils.

Photo Neil Cross
Morecambe Community High SchoolPhoto Neil Cross
Morecambe Community High School
Photo Neil Cross Morecambe Community High School

But the trust says this will give staff in all four schools “great opportunities to work together to improve the life chances for the young people in our local area”.

Last year, Morecambe High School was rated Inadequate by Ofsted.

An extensive programme of building and refurbishment work including a new art and music block, new roofs and new windows and a modernisation of facilities will begin at the Dallam Road site straight away.

The £3m grant has come from the Department of Education.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Bay Learning Trust has appointed Victoria Michael as the permanent Principal of the new academy.

Mrs Michael has been working in the school over the last 16 months and will continue to work closely with the other school leaders in the Trust.

Professor John Crewdson, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bay Learning Trust said: “We are very excited that Morecambe Bay Academy is joining our family of schools, we believe that the school and its young people will thrive in our Trust and look forward to working together.”

The school will have a new uniform with a new academy logo, and the school has secured a grant to enable the academy to give every current student a blazer and tie for September.

This means that the only cost to parents will be the purchase of a new pair of trousers or a skirt over the summer holidays.