On Monday 14 September, we were pleased to welcome Mr John Whittingdale, MP, into our Mill Road Campus where our Executive Principal, Mr Carl Wakefield, provided him with a full operational tour whilst over 600 Years' 7 and 8 students were in lessons.

Mr Wakefield also clarified with Mr Whittingdale that it had been a superb start back after a near six month lay-off as a fully operational academy and that attendance was currently sitting at 96% - for our new Year 7 on day one it was 99.3%!

It was also a good opportunity for Mr Wakefield to express his serious concerns with regards a number of key issues including the summer examinations debacle, the ever-changing Department for Education guidance which was often received in the early hours as well as during Bank Holiday Weekends, and perhaps the most serious of all, the buckling Test and Trace system which if not sorted out very soon, has the potential to unpick all of the tremendous work carried out by school staff not just at Plume Academy over the last six months, but nationwide.

Mr Whittingdale promised to take all of these points back to the associated Ministers at Westminster and on behalf of the schools, staff, parents and carers and above all, the students of Maldon and the area John represents.