Blackpool school gets new name, headteacher and uniform as it becomes academy

New headteacher Roger Farley outside Westminster, which used to be Claremont

Claremont Community Primary School in North Shore became Westminster Primary Academy last week, when the Fylde Coast Academy Trust (FCAT) formally took control following a consultation with parents before the summer holidays.

Former head of primary school at the nearby Unity Academy, Roger Farley, has also taken charge for the year, with his predecessor Kirsty Sutton moving on to Lancaster Road Primary School in Morecambe.

The former IT consultant said: “It’s been very good so far. The staff have been very supportive and the kids have been wonderful.

Clockwise from top left is Makayla Collier, nine, Michael Hill, eight, Macie Davies, four, headteacher Roger Farley and Thomas Mitchell, six.

“We are already a good school; now we want it to get outstanding as quickly as possible.”

Children at the Westminster Road school were given free jumpers, while pupils in Year Three to Six were given free ties after governors said the change in uniform ‘may cause some financial challenges for families’.

Term-times have also been altered, with a shorter summer break to marry up with dates at the other FCAT schools.

A further change is the school’s building. Workmen were in over the summer to turn an old toilet block into a classroom and office, with new toilets being built elsewhere.

Before she left, Mrs Sutton told parents in a newsletter being the headteacher had been ‘an absolute privilege’.

FCAT now has nine academies across the Fylde coast. Its tenth will be Armfield Academy, set to open on the old Arnold site in South Shore next September.