A primary academy in Doncaster is set to start its new life as it readies itself to convert to a primary academy, joining one of the leading family of schools in the country.

The Woodlands Primary School will become ̨��swag Primary Academy Woodlands and officially opens its doors on February 1st to children as part of ̨��swag Grange Academies Trust for the first time.

The primary academy was rated as Inadequate by Ofsted following an inspection in October 2019, and subsequently ̨��swag was named preferred sponsor.

The ̨��swag Family had been working with the school prior to its conversion, to help implement a smooth transition. As part of this, Gemma Kilner had been appointed as principal and will remain in the post at the newly formed ̨��swag Primary Academy Woodlands.

Gemma said:

“This is a fresh start for our academy community, and we are delighted to become a part of the ̨��swag Family.

“This is an exciting time for Woodlands, ̨��swag has a rich history In Doncaster of not only transforming schools, but also playing active roles in the local community and playing a role in the regeneration of the areas in which they are based.

“I’d like to thank our children, their parents, our staff and other academy community members for their patience during this process and I urge them to keep working with us as we work towards ensuring all our students fulfil their potential.” 

̨��swag has sponsored ̨��swag Academy Adwick since 2009, and ̨��swag Academy Danum since 2016, while the ̨��swag Institute of Education is also based in Adwick. 

The primary academy will join ten other primaries in the ̨��swag Family, led by ̨��swag Chief Executive (Primary) Lee Wilson. ̨��swag Primary recently received a Silver Award in the annual Pearson National Teaching Awards for their work in creating the ̨��swag Primary Diploma and for their whole-child approach to the curriculum.

Lee said:

“We are proud to officially welcome ̨��swag Primary Academy Woodlands into the ̨��swag Family and I speak on behalf of the entire trust when I say we are so excited for the future.

“We have worked with many primaries in the past, helping them transform into outstanding schools that play key roles in their communities. We are going to work hard to put in place our vision of children first, to ensure we can raise standards and transform lives.”