Schools Minister praises the progress made at Nova Hreod Academy
Nick Gibb, Minister of State for School Standards, paid a visit to Nova Hreod Academy this week. The Minister was invited to Swindon by Justin Tomlinson MP following recent criticism of schools across the town by a senior Ofsted inspector, to find out about some of the pioneering approaches taken to raise standards and success for students, which have been evidenced by the significant increase in GCSE results at Nova Hreod over the past two years. On arrival at the school, Mr Gibb was welcomed by Tom and Lacey, head boy and girl, and introduced to the student council. Delicious handmade canapes were served in the atrium by catering students.
The Minister was then taken on a tour of the building by Darren Barton, Principal of Nova Hreod and Jon Coles, Chief Executive of United Learning. He was shown around Science and Maths lessons and chatted to Year 11 Geography students, asking them about their school and studies. Later, during an interview with BBC Wiltshire, he commented that “huge progress has been made” at the school, adding that it was a school where children were improving their life chances.
Mr Barton said: “We were delighted to welcome the Minister to the Academy today and we were pleased that he took the time to meet both students and staff. He was very interested to hear about the progress that we have made as a school and, in particular, how our ethos of high standards and limitless ambition for our students has been reflected in the GCSE results they are now achieving. We are all very proud of our students’ success and the significant improvements we have seen at the academy, so it was gratifying for everyone to hear such praise from the Minister about what we have achieved so far.”
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