Ely College principal resigns

The principal of Ely College has announced she will step down at the end of the academic year – just 18 months after taking up her post at the struggling school.
In a letter to parents, principal Evelyn Ford said she was “extremely proud of all that has been achieved by everyone in the school and to have worked with so many excellent staff and students during my time here”, but that she would be leaving at the end of the summer term.
The resignation came days after South East Cambridgeshire MP Lucy Frazer chaired a special meeting at Ely College to discuss its future.
As reported in Spotted in Ely, the meeting on May 20 brought together parents, carers and college management to discuss the change in the school’s sponsor from CfBT Schools Trust to Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT) on July 1.
Ely College has been in special measures since March 2015, when an Ofsted report deemed it to be “inadequate”.
Ofsted largely blamed its former “zero tolerance” policy on poor pupil attendance and performance.
Following the damning report, former principal Catherine Jenkinson-Dix and vice-principals Martha Ball and Richard Baker resigned.
Days later, Ms Ford was appointed to run the college, saying she hoped to make the Ely community proud of its local school and to help students fulfill their potential.