A SCHOOL in the Redditch district has ushered in the new academic year with a brand new identity.

Ridgeway Academy in Astwood Bank near Redditch has been renamed Ridgeway Secondary School.

The new name is the latest in a raft of major changes at the school.

Ridgeway celebrated excellent GCSE results in August – the first to be taken by pupils following the school’s conversion to secondary status in 2016 after many years as a 9-13 middle school.

Over the summer the school underwent a major upgrade; the school’s suite of science labs were updated, new carpeting laid on all corridors, a new ramp access installed with automatic doors, and new doors and alarm systems fitted throughout the school.

Ridgeway’s plans include an expansion of the school’s roll, from 400 today to 600 by 2023.

Headteacher Mike Bennett said: “As we have had secondary status since 2016 and have been an exam centre since 2014, we felt that the time was right to consolidate these changes with a new identity.

“We are a fully-fledged secondary school with superb, highly experienced staff who provide our students with a caring, supportive and aspirational environment that helps them make exceptional progress and attain impressive GCSE results.”

Jane Craig, Chair of Governors, said: “We’re in a new era here at Ridgeway and we are very excited about the changes we are making for the students and our local community.”

“I am proud to be associated with such a progressive school and one where the ethos is one of educating the young person as a whole.”