Wealden MP Nus Ghani visited Phoenix Academy and White House Academy in Hailsham to meet the staff and students, following their impressive results last year.

Phoenix Academy topped the 2018 Hailsham Primary School league table, with 71 per cent of students achieving the required standard in English and maths.

Both Phoenix and White House had a history of poor performance before becoming academies. They have since turned it around using a new curriculum, including expecting every child to leave at the end of year 6 having read Shakespeare and Dickens, as well as placing a major emphasis on five major values: passion, urgency, positivity, aspiration and commitment.

The STEP Academy Trust, which runs schools across the East Sussex and South London, has been the driving force behind the improvement, and Nus met with STEP CEO Mark Ducker, Vice Chair of Governors Christopher Taylor, Executive Head Teach Tim Mills, Acting Deputy Head Teacher Lee Drinkwater and Executive Secretary Cheryl Gilbert.

Nus Ghani, MP for Wealden, said: “Both Phoenix Academy and White House Academy are fantastic primary schools in Hailsham that offer an enriching environment at the cutting edge of education.

“It’s wonderful to see them both thriving and flourishing so much, and it’s a credit to the teachers and leadership team of STEP that their results have improved in such a short period of time.

“It was a pleasure to meet so many inspiring teachers and enthusiastic students, and it’s clear that the students are all buying into their values of passion, urgency, positivity aspiration and commitment!.”