54°47′23″N 1°20′10″W / 54.7898°N 1.3362°W / 54.7898; -1.3362
Special school in Easington Colliery, County Durham, England| Hope Wood Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| Crawlaw Road Easington Colliery, County Durham, SR8 3LP England | |
| Information | |
| Type | Special school; Academy |
| Local authority | Durham County Council |
| Trust | Ascent Academies’ Trust |
| Department for Education URN | 138718 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head | Adele Pearson |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 2 to 19 |
| Website | http://www.hopewood.org.uk/ |
Hope Wood Academy is an academy based in Easington Colliery, County Durham. The school caters for pupils aged 2–19 with Special Educational Needs.
Originally known as Glendene School, it converted to academy status since September 2012 and was renamed Glendene Arts Academy. It was formally reopened by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh following a £2.3 million refurbishment.
In 2014, a report was released by the Education Funding Agency—who are responsible for funding and monitoring the finances of free schools and academies—alleging financial mismanagement and demanding the school repay £162,000 of taxpayers' money. A spokesperson said that the school had engaged in a "serious mismanagement of funds" Following the publication of the report, three people connected to the school were arrested by police on suspicion of fraud and released on bail. No such irregularities were found and all charges against the three individuals were subsequently dropped without any action being taken.
The school has since been renamed Hope Wood Academy and is now sponsored by the Ascent Academies’ Trust.
References
- "Hope Wood Academy". Archived from the original on 12 January 2016.
- "VIDEO: Prince Philip opens Easington's Glendene Arts Academy". Sunderland Echo. 25 April 2013.
- Investigation report: Glendene Arts Academy, Education Funding Agency, 14 February 2014
- Jonathan Brown; Richard Garner (17 February 2014). "Revealed: Police investigate lost £162,000 at academy school". The Independent.
- "Glendene Arts Academy: Three arrested in fraud inquiry". BBC News. 3 April 2014.
- Sarah Scott (3 April 2014). "Three people have been arrested over an alleged fraud at a County Durham academy". Chronicle Live.