New name heralds new era at County High School

A Bury St Edmunds secondary school has announced a name change and a new look as it embarks on a new era of education.

Bury St Edmunds County High School is the new name for County Upper School with leaders explaining they wanted to both respect the history and be forward-thinking at the same time.

The new school year has seen County High create a lower campus on the site of Westley Middle School following the reorganisation of four schools in the town earlier this year.

Sally Kennedy, headteacher at County High School, said: “These are exciting times for the school, our students and staff, and the whole town.

“We are very proud of the history and heritage of County and its reputation for academic excellence.

“But as we are no longer an upper school, we wanted a new name to recognise our new identity – both at the high school and the more intimate setting at Oliver Road.”

Under the new plans, pupils from both the lower campus and the high school will be brought together as much as possible, both in the classroom and for cross-school events such as music and sport.

It has also led to a restructure of school transport in the area with a far greater radius of neighbouring villages now covered by free buses.

Mrs Kennedy added: “We know that many of our parents have been unable to access free school transport in the past, so we are delighted that Suffolk County Council has widened this out to cover many more villages around Bury.

“We are holding an open evening at the lower campus site at Westley on Thursday 29^th September where one of the things we will be discussing is the new free school transport routes as well as what a split-site secondary school can offer.”

Ben Jeffery, head of lower school, said: “We listened carefully during the public consultation into the reorganisation plans and one thing that came out loud and clear was that people liked the middle school feel.

“On the back of that, we decided to create the lower campus at Oliver Road for Year 7 and Year 8 pupils.

“We are delighted to have staff from both of the middle schools in town now working at Oliver Road which adds to that personal, smaller school environment.”