‘Wonderful year’ for reborn Bridge Academy
18 July 2025
An inspirational school which supports students who have had a difficult start to their education is celebrating a fantastic first year under the leadership of new Head of School Elliot Payne.
Mr Payne and staff at The Bridge Academy in Lichfield – a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) providing a supportive learning environment to children aged five to 16 who struggle in the standard classroom system – are reflecting on a wonderful year which has seen the school reborn.
As Staffordshire’s first ‘all-aged’ PRU, with both primary and secondary students enrolled, The Bridge has developed a vision: to empower young people to be ‘School Ready, Work Ready, Life Ready’.
Mr Payne said: “Since last September, our staff have been working incredibly hard to raise standards in our school to ensure that we provide a high-quality educational offer to all of our children – and we have so much to be proud of.
“Our students are with us for a variety of reasons. Whether they were excluded or at risk of exclusion, have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or just need additional support, we believe all our children deserve the absolute best.”
Among the groundbreaking changes made at The Bridge – which is part of the respected Arthur Terry Learning Partnership – include huge refurbishments to the site, a brand-new, clear curriculum for students and integrating high-quality teaching and learning strategies across all subjects.
All students now have the opportunity to use iPads in all lessons, with the aim of making learning more accessible and engaging.
Students have also benefited from newly-introduced routines, including lining up on entry and dismissal from lessons, which Mr Payne says has brought a helpful structure to the school day.
The changes have centred around the school’s ‘RAISE’ values.
Mr Payne explained: “RAISE stands for Respect, Aspiration, Independence, Success and Engagement. These are values we expect students to embody throughout school life and we’ve developed them this year.
“We’ve recruited a brand-new team of leaders, teaching staff and support staff and it’s been amazing seeing how committed all of our staff are to sharing these values and uplifting our students.
“We have been keeping our families updated through weekly newsletters, which has proved to be popular.”
Mr Payne added: “My first year as head here has come to an end and we’ve already made so many improvements for our students. I’m so grateful to all of our amazing staff for implementing these changes in such an effective way.
“I can’t wait to see what our future holds.”
