Chantry Academy (formerly Suffolk New Academy and Chantry High School) is a secondary school with academy status in the Chantry area of Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk. The school educates children aged 11 to 16 and has around 750 pupils. The current principal, Craig D'Cunha, took up the post in February 2015.[1]

Chantry Academy
Address
Map
Mallard Way

, ,
IP2 9LR

Information
TypeAcademy
MottoVALUED (Versatile, Aspirational, Learning, Understanding, Engaged, Determined)
PrincipalCraig D'Cunha
GenderCo-educational
Age11 to 16
Colour(s)    
Orange, Blue, Black, Grey
Websitehttp://www.chantryacademy.org/

In 2018, the academy received a 'good' Ofsted inspection rating.[2]

History

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The school opened in September 1962 as a secondary modern school serving the recently established council estate of Chantry in southwest Ipswich. Originally, the school consisted of the two three-floored 'A' and 'G' blocks with a main school hall area. Following the growth of the estate, the school's roll grew rapidly into the 1970s, resulting in the extension of the site. The school remained a secondary modern school until the late 1970s when Suffolk became fully comprehensive and the school was renamed Chantry High School.

In March 2012,[3] the school announced its intentions to convert to academy status in collaboration with Suffolk New College. This conversion was finalised during the following academic year, when the school was renamed Suffolk New Academy.

During the summer of 2014, the old 'G' block was demolished in preparation for the building work of a brand new school on the existing site. This building work took place throughout the 2014–15 academic year, and saw rise to the construction of a three-storey building plus sports hall. The old 'A' block was subsequently demolished in the summer of 2015, with the remaining old buildings due to follow suit.

In early 2015, the school revealed that the Active Learning Trust would be taking over sponsorship from September 2015. This would coincide with the opening of the new school building and another name change. In May 2015, following a public consultation, the school announced it would be reverting to the Chantry name under the guise of Chantry Academy, which had received 66% of the public vote.[4]

Before Mr D’Chuna took charge of the high school, Ofsted (an organisation which judges schools to determine how efficient a school is) reported that the school was put into ‘special measures’, as of 2018, the secondary school has shown an improvement as it has now been given a rated of ‘good’ by Ofsted.

Sixth Form Centre

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In 1981 the school opened a sixth form centre. Originally, it served Chantry, East Bergholt, Stoke, Copleston, Kesgrave, and numerous smaller schools, acting as an alternative to the already established Northgate Sixth Form centre.

In the 1990s, due to the increase of Sixth Form Centres within Ipswich, Chantry Sixth Form Centre predominantly served just the Chantry and Stoke areas. It closed following the development of the One sixth form in September 2010.

References

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  1. ^ "New principal of under-fire Suffolk New Academy pledges to remove special measures and gain 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating". Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. ^ Ofsted Communications Team (16 October 2019). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Ipswich: Boost for school as hopes of becoming an academy moves a step closer". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Name change for Suffolk New Academy as it becomes Chantry Academy. What do you think?". Retrieved 31 August 2015.
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52°02′42″N 1°07′47″E / 52.0450°N 1.1296°E / 52.0450; 1.1296