Exceptional senior leadership team appointed

It has been an especially busy time for us at The Ongar Academy since we signed our Funding Agreement with the Department for Education and made unconditional offers to our founding Year 7 students last week. I am now delighted to announce the appointment of the exceptional teachers who will join me on the Senior Leadership Team at The Ongar Academy.

As you can see below, these talented teachers have all worked in highly sought-after schools, including Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School and Anglo European School in Ingatestone, and bring a wealth of experience to The Ongar Academy.

We have already received a huge number of high quality applications for the remaining teaching vacancies ahead of the 16th March closing date and I am confident that we will have the very best staff with the experience, skills and qualifications needed to provide inspirational teaching and support for each and every student.

It has been wonderful to speak with the many families who share our excitement as they choose to join our educational community. We enjoyed seeing many of you who live north of Ongar at Monday's Transport Information Sharing Evening and look forward to seeing parents who live to the south of Ongar this Wednesday - please scroll down for further details. Also, if you have not already seen details of our Transport Guarantee for 2015, please do take moment to look at this.

We understand that choosing the right secondary school for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make, so please do not hesitate to call us on 01277 286255 or email info@theongaracademy.org if you are considering a Year 7 place at The Ongar Academy for this September.

David Grant, Headteacher

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Jenny Box
Assistant Headteacher

Jenny has most recently been Head of Science at Anglo European School in Ingatestone. Jenny is a physicist by training and has had experience as an Acting Assistant Headteacher, whilst one of her colleagues was on maternity leave. Jenny joins us as one of our Assistant Headteachers.

Rebecca Hingston
Assistant Headteacher

Rebecca is currently leading a Key Stage within English at Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School. She has also been a Head of Year and held responsibility for English A-level coursework. Rebecca will be one of our Assistant Headteachers.

Jen Chapman
Faculty Leader, PE & Arts

Jen joins us from a prominent school in West Essex, where she is currently a Subject Leader and Head of House. Jen is an expert at netball and competes in the Netball Premier League weekly. She will run our PE & Arts Faculty.

Helen Hedges
Faculty Leader, Humanities

Helen is the Head of History at Westcliff High School for Boys. Helen holds an MA and will run our Humanities Faculty.

Transport Information Sharing Evenings

On Monday evening we arranged a Transport Information Sharing Evening for parents with children starting at The Ongar Academy in Year 7 this September who live in the villages and more rural areas to the north of Ongar.

This event was very well attended and we were able to answer questions from parents who live in surrounding villages. Officers from Essex County Council were also on hand to reassure parents about the provision for free home-to-school transport. We are most grateful to the Headteacher at Rodings Primary School for hosting the event.

Don't worry if you missed Monday's event for those living to the north of Ongar - there will be further opportunities to find out more about transport arrangements for your area.

We will be holding a second Transport Information Sharing Evening for parents who live to the south of Ongar from 7.00 - 8.00pm on Wednesday 11th March at Kelvedon Hatch Primary School.

The Ongar Academy Transport Guarantee

The following transport options are available to parents with children starting at The Ongar Academy in 2015:

Where children live within walking distance and there is a suitable walking route, we would encourage them to walk to school. The Ongar Academy is exploring options for a ‘Walking Bus’ scheme:
“A walking bus is a service supported and operated by the school community. It identifies opportunities for walking the school journey and provides trained volunteers to guide and supervise younger children travelling to and from school.”
Where children live more than three miles from The Ongar Academy and/or there is no available walking route, free home-to-school transport will be provided by Essex County Council provided that The Ongar Academy is the nearest school with an available place.
There are special rules for children from lower income families and for looked after children. Parents should apply for home-to-school transport at this link.
If parents do not qualify for free home-to-school transport for their child (as above), parents may make their own travel arrangements, including shared lifts, etc.
There is also the opportunity to purchase spare seats, where available, on local authority contracted bus services by contacting the operators directly.

The Ongar Academy Transport Guarantee

If you live within 15 miles of the school and in the summer it has become clear that there is no available transport for your child to come to our school, The Ongar Academy will organise paid transport.

Site proposals unveiled

The Ongar Academy will have the resources needed to build a world-class educational facility on Fyfield Road, Ongar.

The Department for Education, the Education Funding Agency and industry experts are working with us to design high-quality teaching spaces serving all subject areas, with specialist facilities where they are needed. Our founder cohort of students will watch as this multi-million pound facility rises from the ground and will be actively involved, alongside parents and teaching staff, in designing our superb new school.

"Coupled with large assembly spaces, meeting areas and dining facilities, the school will rival the very best institutions in the country."
David Grant

Whilst the new school is being built, students will be accommodated just a short walk away, in interim facilities based around the superb existing Adult Community Learning Centre. The wonderful facilities available at the Ongar Leisure Centre, including the sports hall, swimming pool, football and rugby pitches, will be fully available to the school from the day we open.

Admission

We will shortly be sending out full Welcome Packs to those who will be starting with us in September. This will include details of all the events and activities over the coming months. We have a very exciting programme planned, designed to ensure the transition to secondary school is as smooth as possible both for students and parents.

As a reminder, parents must send back their acceptance forms by 5.00pm on Monday 16th March 2015.

As we are currently oversubscribed, we are operating a waiting list and will process these applications and make offers, if we have any available places, shortly after 16th March.

Join our waiting list