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“We are almost there!”

The head of a school on a journey of improvement has spoken about the two years of changes and achievements since it joined a multi-academy trust.

A plan of action was outlined for the transformation of Royal Docks Academy when it officially joined the BMAT group of schools in January 2018.

The mission was outlined to staff about what was to be achieved by this year, 2020.

Executive headteacher John Blaney said that although there is still some way to go on the journey, many of the goals set have been reached.

He said: “We are almost there.

“We have just revisited the plan with staff to see where we are up to. We have still got some work to do, but we have benefited from the support of the Trust and movement within the organisation of experienced teachers and leaders who know what Outstanding looks like.

“We are now a school of choice in the area.”

Year 11 students now work to an extended school day – between 7.45am and 5pm – and attend revision sessions on Saturdays.

A new curriculum was introduced and is being reviewed and developed in line with BMAT’s educational developments.

BMAT regularly carries out inhouse reviews of all schools to ensure they meet expectations.

In two years, the school has seen –

• its best ever GCSE results
• students achieving at or above the national average in science and maths for the first time
• students achieving at or above the national average in foundation subjects
• its Progress 8 score increase by half a grade
• behaviour considered Outstanding
• teaching improve to at least Good, with much Outstanding
• application numbers for Year 7 places for 2020 higher than ever

Mr Blaney, who started his teaching career in Newham, said: “There has been lots of staff development and we have made some fantastic appointments to strengthen the teaching at Royal Docks.

“Most importantly, everyone in the school has bought in to the BMAT vision and values of high expectations and excellence for all.

“We hope now that the work we do on our 2020 curriculum will build on the improvements we have already seen, making sure our students have access to high quality GCSEs and EBBac subjects. All students will have the opportunity to study humanities and languages in line with BMAT’s expectations.

“We need to make sure our results this summer build on the growth we have seen in the last two years. This is a big year for us.”