3 different names in five years, 3 different heads, governors appointed, sacked, new buildings, failed church academy plans… the New Malcolm Arnold School has had just about everything thrown at it in recent years. Let’s hope that now at last pupils can get some stability under the new leadership of academy sponsor David Ross.

Lib Dem councillors have not supported Conservative academy plans for the school. The last proposal involving the Peterborough Diocese collapsed as it failed to win the confidence of parents, pupils and staff. The school has suffered from others pointing the finger of blame and imposing solutions rather than working with a school community doing their best under difficult circumsances.

Despite all the change and disruption, now is the time to wish the ‘new’ school well. The new leadership have started with one good decision, renaming the school of the famous musician Malcolm Arnold. He was born just round the corner in St. Georges Avenue, and his family lived there until his father death in the 1980’s.

The extraordinary news though is that £4.2 million is to be spent on refurbishment of the school. Some of this will go on the ievitable, but sad, demolition of the old swimming pool. It seems there is no place for swimming pools in our new secondary schools. Much of it though will go on reurbishment of building which have been finished for barely two years- including the dining hall atrium. Something was seriously wrong with the building and design of a new building if it needs this kind of money spending on it so soon.

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