Academy opens to acclaim

Tipton in the West Midlands does not often receive national headlines. On 4 November 2008, however, the Duke of Edinburgh visited to officially open the new RSA Academy. His opening comments included the line: "I was amazed when they said the RSA was going to run a school. Frankly I didn't know they could run anything!" But he then went on to confess that he was "tremendously impressed" with what he saw.

On the opening day, 130 guests including local people, sponsors and many RSA Fellows were given a guided tour of the school and a presentation by the architects on the plans for the new building, which will be completed in 2010. Students gave a presentation on how their feedback influenced the design of the new buildings and pupils also served as guides taking guests on classroom tours and answering questions on how they were finding life in their new school.

This is a day to be proud of - we are rewriting the model of how a school is run," said Daulton Redmond, vice principal of the Academy. "The RSA's Opening Minds curriculum has been in operation since September this year and we can already see the positive impact it is having."
Guests at the event were introduced to the Academy's teachers and were able to visit classrooms during lessons. "It's fantastic to see so many guests here today that were involved in the creation of the curriculum," said Gina Yilmaz-Frate, an Opening Minds team leader for the Academy."The students are already benefiting from the opportunity to feedback on their learning."

Opening Minds uses a framework of competencies to develop crucial tools for life. The emphasis is on promoting skills and capabilities in addition to building knowledge. Examples are good citizenship, the ability to manage relationships and skills for learning. The Academy has implemented a number of groundbreaking initiatives that include a five-term academic year, a teaching day consisting of two three-hour sessions and larger classrooms so pupils can work individually and in groups of different sizes. 

More than 200 schools across the country now follow the Opening Minds blueprint and a recent survey of these establishments revealed that 78 per cent had their curriculum provision graded as outstanding or good by Ofsted (11 per cent higher than the national average).

Matthew Taylor, RSA chief executive, said: "The decision to sponsor an academy was based on the strongest of educational grounds. We have seen the impact that Opening Minds can have at key stage 3. The Academy gives us the opportunity to apply the principles across the school. We believe we need to radically rethink schooling for the 21st century."

Currently, the Academy has 1,100 students aged 11-18. It is an independent school with no fees and no requirement to pass an entrance examination. 

View further information on the Academy and learn more about Opening Minds.