Head teacher of Littleport and East Cambs Academy says opening was ‘great day with superb teamwork and fantastic determination’

The head teacher of a new school in Littleport has said the opening was “a great day with lots of superb teamwork on display and some fantastic determination”.

Skott Gaskins, who left his role as vice principal at Neale-Wade Academy, is now head of school at Littleport and East Cambs Academy.

The academy, which is part of a £30 million site and run by The Active Learning Trust, opened to students for the first time yesterday (Wednesday September 6).

In a blog posted on the academy website ahead of the opening, Mr Gaskins said: “Having spent the whole week on site and seeing the amazing progress every day, the academy is ready.

“The students truly have an outstanding and unique campus to enjoy for the next five years. With superb facilities and a talented team of teachers and support staff, the students will have countless opportunities to progress and grow as the school grows with them.

“Some of the unique features of the academy are:

1. “Sharing the campus with Highfield Littleport Academy SEN, meaning that we can share expertise across both schools on a daily basis.

2. “Sharing the campus with the new Littleport Leisure Centre who are, under the leadership of Dawn Holmes, already creating sporting opportunities that the students will be able to access in the months and years ahead.

3. “Our Trust, The Active Learning Trust, already has three successful secondary schools which LECA will draw good practice from while also developing our own unique identity.

4. “Our ‘library’ is an online resource meaning that students have access to over 30,000 e-books which can be ‘pushed’ to their device or PC. We also have a range of traditional books for students to borrow too.

5. “National standard sports hall and MUGA (multi use games arena).

6. “We will always reward determination and resilience as part of our growth mindset ethos, not just progress and attainment. We see these attributes as vital to the success of our students and will be working with them to develop these skills from day one.”

Two open evenings have been planned so far. Littleport & East Cambs Academy opens to the public for tours of the building from 4-7.30pm on Thursday September 21.

Then, on Wednesday September 27, from 5-8pm, there will be an open evening for prospective parents of Year 6 children.

The four form entry secondary school, Littleport Academy, caters for 600 pupils aged 11 to 16, with the potential to accommodate 750 pupils in the future.

The special educational needs (SEN) school on the same site will cater for 110 pupils between the ages of two and 19 and include a hydrotherapy pool for swimming therapy programmes.