KESTEVEN and Grantham Girls’ School could become an academy by August despite initial reluctance from the governors and headteacher.
The grammar school is the only one in the town which is not yet an academy.
But headteacher Graham Burks said if the figures are correct KGGS may get a huge financial boost by signing up for academy status.
He said: “It’s a really exciting prospect. It’s worth investigating if there could be a lot of money for the girls, it’s all about accessing resources for the girls at the school.”
Last year, when the King’s School opted for academy status, Mr Burks told the Journal he was nervous about losing grammar status. But the situation has changed since then.
He said: “Every secondary school was sent encouragement to become and academy by the local authority but we still didn’t take it seriously.”
At that stage the school was focusing on becoming ‘outstanding’, a grade which it received from Ofsted in October last year. After that they were still not convinced but then in February they saw evidence that KGGS may benefit dramatically from taking academy status.
He said: “The numbers for next year are significant to the point that you have got to make the decision that that money could be used on doing something special for the girls.”
The governors have been weighing up the pros and cons of academy status and recently they voted overwhelmingly in favour of the change.
There is no intention to change the name of the school or its selective status.
Mr Burks said a number of projects could be looked at like the extension of science facilities, developing the sixth form and extending creative arts.
He said: “If the numbers appear to be as they are we could look at some very exciting developments.”
The school is beginning a period of consultation with everyone involved. If approved KGGS could be an academy by the end of the summer.
Mr Burks added: “It’s exciting news for the town. If we are going to do it we need to embrace it as a community and make it work for the students.”