Message from the Principal Designate

As the summer term comes to a close, I want to take the opportunity to thank the staff, parents, students, our sponsors and our wider community for their support and ideas, helping to make Marine Academy Plymouth a reality for September 2010.

This week has been an exciting week and it has been a lot of fun: we’ve had a visit from the Times Educational Supplement (TES) and we’ve started to firm up plans around the Academy’s Launch Day which will happen on the 4th September (more details will be here soon for you to share and comment on).

I have also presented our plans for the Marine Academy to a special meeting at the Government’s Department for Education (DfE) in London and we have had some really positive feedback.

There is a strong will from every corner to make Marine Academy Plymouth a success, and I really appreciate that.

I mentioned that it had been a fun week; I know that there are lots of rumours circulating about the Academy and rumours about me, too! Students have ‘heard’ that I’m Russian, that I want boys to shave their heads, that all boys have to wear shorts, that all girls have to wear black lace-up shoes and… that I have a wooden leg. Thankfully, none of these things are true!

Students have also ‘heard’ or ‘been told’ that they are going to be forced to come and study on Saturdays – this is definitely not true!

On an important note about uniform, I’m pleased to tell you that Brigade, our uniform supplier, will be at Marine Academy Plymouth on the 1st September. There will be a letter with more details sent out to all parents very soon. We’ll also put a copy of the letter on the website. The website will be updated throughout the summer and we’ll be posting information on the Facebook page and Twitter.

Change is always a time of anxiety and concern, but please be assured we have our students’ success at heart. We want this Academy to be a place of inspiration and support and a ‘launch pad’ for the future.

I wish you all a fantastic summer and hope that towards the end of August you will give the new Academy some thought – if you do have any questions or concerns please contact me, you can email me at contact@marineacademy.org.uk.

Finally, I would like to wish Tamarside Community College a wonderful final week: I know that there will be celebrations of all that the school has achieved over the last many years during the last three days of term. Best wishes to everyone, you must be very proud.

Helen Mathieson
Principal Designate
Marine Academy Plymouth