News from the academy years

The former academy website carried newsletters, letters home, term dates and notices for families. Its early newsletter index survives, as do independent accounts of major events. This reading list brings those traces together in date order.

2013 · A first year on New Road

27 March. The Stoke Gifford Journal reported the topping-out of the new academy building and announced a May event for prospective families. Its account identifies founding principal Rhian Priest and describes what the workshop and laboratory spaces were designed for.

October. The first surviving newsletter index lists an October 2013 issue, from the school's opening term. The index records the issue's existence. Its full text is unavailable here.

26 November. The Earl of Wessex officially opened the academy after touring its project rooms. The opening account distinguishes the ceremony from the first day of term in September.

2013–2014 · A newsletter every two months

The preserved index names two further issues, December 2013 and February 2014. Together with the October issue they show the school's early publication rhythm. For a research citation, use the archived newsletter index and specify the issue month.

2015–2018 · Inspection reports

Ofsted visited in April 2015 and October 2018. Between them, the reports give two accounts of school life, teaching and the developing sixth form. Both are linked in the document archive.

2021–2022 · The transition

A March 2021 joint statement set out discussions with Olympus. In June, the local journal reported on both that statement and subsequent leadership changes. The trust transfer took place in September 2021, followed a year later by the merger with Abbeywood. The transition timeline links those events to the official records.