New Seaham Academy receives top praise in schools guide

New Seaham Academy year6 pupils Ryan Williamson and Niamh Eltringham join headteacher Bernadette Dolan celebrate the school being the Number One school.

New Seaham Academy has been praised for its success in all areas.

The Real Schools Guide 2015, which uses 42 different data sets to reveal the best state-funded primaries, said the Byron Terrace school in Seaham is the best overall in the region.

Year6 pupils at New Seaham Academy celebrate the school being the Number One school.

As well as this, the principal, Bernadette Dolan, has received a letter from Schools Minister Nick Gibbs, congratulating the school on being in the top 100 nationally, for the progress children make during their time there.

Mrs Dolan said: “Naturally staff, children and trustees are delighted to be in the top 1% of schools for pupil progress, as we have staff who are so dedicated and committed to the children of our school.

“This means that regardless of the starting point or ability of any child in the school, each child makes outstanding progress from when they start and until they leave New Seaham Academy. This is down to the hard work and expertise of all involved in New Seaham Academy.

“We are very proud to put a North East school on the national map, especially in Seaham, the community we serve.”

In his letter, Mr Gibbs thanked staff for their continuing drive towards high standards of educational achievement, their hard work and professionalism.”

The Real Schools Guide aims to give a comprehensive picture of how schools are performing, so, as well as results, it also takes into account things such as value-added scores, absence rates, teacher pupil ratios.