Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope this letter finds you and your families well. No doubt you will be aware or will soon be aware of the decision by the Secretary of State for Education to close High Weald Academy in Cranbrook at the end of this academic year. As part of the closure plan, Mascalls has been identified as a high-performing academy which can support students and parents/carers of High Weald Academy as they navigate a challenging time within an already difficult period in our history.
High Weald is a very small secondary academy with just 276 students across all year groups, including year 11. Mascalls Academy has the physical capacity, plus strong systems and structures through which we are able to offer support to those students who live in our community. High Weald students in years 7-9 have been offered a place at Mascalls for September 2022 with a series of events and induction activities planned to help them fully transition and succeed within our culture of high expectations. Year 10 students at High Weald have been offered a place even earlier from January 2022. This is vital to ensure we have as much teaching time with them as possible before their GCSE examinations in 2023. Due to careful planning, we are able to honour all of their existing subject option choices. Our wide curriculum offer of 33 GCSE subjects means that we have space in which these students can be easily integrated and thrive.
As you can imagine, an issue as sensitive as this can create significant interest amongst media and social media and is upsetting for those involved. We will welcome those students to our academy as they arrive, much as you would hope for should it be your son/daughter. We look forward to them becoming full members of the Mascalls community and succeeding alongside their peers. It is an absolute privilege to lead a community such as ours who are able to help other young people when they need it.
Yours sincerely,
Mr W Monk
Principal
