The first of Hemel Hempstead’s ‘new town’ secondary schools is to switch to academy status in October, governors have confirmed.
The move will mean that Adeyfield School has a better chance of securing the money it needs to improve ageing facilities at the Longlands campus.
Parents have been consulted and the change won’t kick in until October 1, when the new school year has started, to make sure that families of the next Year 7 intake also had a chance to have their say.
Head teacher Scott Martin said: “Now is the right time. This is something that has been discussed for the last two years, but the school is not getting any younger and more capital funding is available to academies.
“We need a sports hall, we need to update our science block, and Herts County Council doesn’t have that sort of money.”
There are no major changes planned to the way the school operates, he stressed, although in future the school will have more freedom to make changes.
