Dear Parents/Carers,
After over six years working for Leigh Academies Trust, with two of those years being as Principal of Strood Academy, Mrs Anwar will be leaving the academy later this year. She has been appointed to an exciting new role in our region that she will tell you more about in due course.
The Trust has immediately embarked on a national recruitment search for an exceptional replacement for Mrs Anwar who has led Strood Academy through an extremely challenging period in its history during the Covid pandemic. The highlight of Mrs Anwar’s tenure was the Ofsted inspection in November 2021 which judged the academy to be “good” in all areas. In addition, we were particularly pleased in the summer of 2022 when Strood Academy achieved the best post-16 results in the academy’s history which included students receiving International Baccalaureate Diplomas for the first time. Mrs Anwar has brought about changes which will serve our staff and students well for the future and we are very grateful for all of her hard work and dedication. The Challenge Partner external review in June 2022 captured recent progress well when the lead reviewer wrote:
“Leaders, ably led by the headteacher, are able to articulate their drive and passion to improve the academy further. They have a detailed knowledge of the academy that enables them to plan precisely what is required to enable students to make further progress.”
We intend to make a new appointment by the end of this half-term. We will write to you again in due course when we have more news about the successful candidate and their official start date. Meanwhile, everything remains very much business as usual as we continue with the important priorities set for this academic year.
Yours faithfully,
Simon Beamish
Chief Executive
