Misplaced Pages

The Queen Katharine Academy (formerly The Voyager Academy and The Voyager School) is a secondary school with academy status in Peterborough in the United Kingdom. The school was formed in 2007 by the amalgamation of Walton Community School and Bretton Woods Community School.

Development

The development of The Voyager School began in September 2003 when consultation began on the £100 million transformation of secondary schools in Peterborough. Four schools were planned for the city and seven schools would be refurbished or expanded.

In 2004, the decision to create these new schools and to close both Walton Community School and Bretton Woods Community School was made. Both schools were to be merged to form The Voyager School, with £26 million of investment.

In January 2005, the headteacher of TVS was announced, Hugh Howe. He would oversee the development and then become the headteacher when the school opened in September 2007. He was known for having improved new and failing schools.

In February 2005, the building contractor for what was then called North School was debated. The city decided on Bouygues Education/Mills group, a French company, well known for its educational building project, to begin construction in March 2006.

In March 2006 the Voyager School launched its bid to become Peterborough's first Media Arts College. The bid offered local businesses the opportunity of helping the school achieve the £50,000 sponsorship necessary to draw on government funding of £1 million.

The predecessor schools held transition events to promote team building, leadership and innovate skills. The first of these in February 2007 was used to create the Voyager School Senior Executive Group (SEG), a form of student leadership within the school where a group of six students would work to create and manage the leadership scheme of The Voyager with Deputy Headteacher, Jane Mullan.

The Voyager School achieved Media Arts Status in January–February 2007 following an application to the Department for Education and Skills.

In the summer of 2016, the school partnered with the Thomas Deacon Academy to form the Thomas Deacon Academy Education Trust. In 2017, the school announced a name change to Queen Katharine Academy.

School performance

In 2008 the school received its first sets of results. The A-Level results were good, but only 23% of students achieved the benchmark of 5 GCSE passes at A*–C including English and mathematics. A report in the Evening Telegraph suggested the school had been given 12 months to improve.

However, the school's first Ofsted inspection in November 2008 noted several good features of the school, and stated that the school had created the effective management needed to overcome a legacy of low achievement at the predecessor schools.

Notable former students

This article's list of alumni may not follow Misplaced Pages's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (November 2022)

Notable people who studied at The Voyager school (and those merged to form it) include:

• Paul Blades - footballer (Walton School)
• Mark Noyce - actor, writer, director and producer (Walton School)
• Luke Pasqualino - actor (Walton School)

References

1. ^ "Our Academy". The Queen Katharine Academy. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ^ "New name for troubled Peterborough school". Peterborough Telegraph. Peterborough Today. 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
4. "Bouygue Development Plans". Bouygues UK. Archived from the original on 22 August 2007.
5. "Consultation Begins on Propose £100 Million Transformation Of City's Schools" (Press release). Peterborough City Council. 9 September 2003. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
6. "Green light for £100 Million School reorganisation" (Press release). Peterborough City Council. 30 January 2004. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
7. "Students Meet New Headteacher" (Press release). Peterborough City Council. 28 January 2005. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
8. "Construction Begins on City's new schools" (Press release). Peterborough City Council. 14 March 2006. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
9. "Voyagers Media Arts Bid Begins" (Press release). Peterborough City Council. 30 March 2006. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
10. "Voyager students embark on 'mission impossible' leadership challenge" (Press release). Peterborough City Council. 30 January 2007. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
11. "Voyager School achieves media arts status" (Press release). Peterborough City Council. 1 February 2007. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
12. "Specialist Status Information". The Voyager School. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
13. "Voyager Academy taken over by Thomas Deacon Academy Trust". www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Peterborough Telegraph. 5 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
14. "The Voyager Academy". GCE Achievement and attainment tables. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
15. "The Voyager School". GCSE Achievement and attainment tables. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2008. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
16. Mehta, Asha (23 August 2008). "Struggling Voyager given 12 months to improve". The Evening Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
17. The Voyager School, Office for Standards in Education.
18. THOSE WERE THE DAYS...Local sporting highlights from this week in years gone by - French On Friday - Peterborough Evening Telegraph
19. Hill, Rose (31 October 2017). "Luke Pasqualino has returned to Our Girl series 3 - here's all you need to know". mirror. Retrieved 24 May 2023.

External links

• School website
• Trust Financial Statement

• Secondary schools in Peterborough
• Educational institutions established in 2007
• Academies in Peterborough
• 2007 establishments in England