Students and staff celebrate Chelsea Academy opening
9 October 2009
Students and staff celebrated the opening of at Chelsea Academy at an Inauguration Service at Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, with over 100 special guests.
The special service, led by the Ven. Stephan Welch, Archdeacon of Middlesex and Chair of Governors, and the Revd Rob Gillion, Area Dean of Chelsea and also a Governor, included performances from the Academy choir and dance company, along with reflections from students and staff on their hopes and dreams for the new school.
In his opening remarks, the Archdeacon referred to the anchor in the Academy badge, saying that the Academy was truly launched and afloat with the anchor of the Christian faith to steady and inspire it.
The service was attended by Councillor Merrick Cockell, Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Councillor Timothy Coleridge, Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea.
Chelsea Academy opened its doors to 162 Year 7 students on 7 September 2009. Specialising in the sciences, the Academy, jointly sponsored by the London Diocesan Board for Schools and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, is the first secondary school to be built in the Royal Borough since the 1950s and is the fifth Church of England Academy to be set up in the Diocese of London. Upon completion, the school will eventually offer places for 1,060 pupils, including 250 Sixth Form places.
The Academy is currently in temporary accommodation in Hortensia Road in Chelsea and will move to a brand new building in nearby Lots Road in September 2010.
The Principal, Andy Yarrow, said:
"This service is an extremely important event, marking the start of the Academy. We are delighted that so many friends and supporters of the Academy are able to join the staff and students as they celebrate the Academy's inauguration and pray for God's blessing on its future."
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| Left: the whole Academy on the first day of term. |
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