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Fond Farewell to Vice Principal

Vice Principal Avril Bartley-Smith will be leaving at the end of this term.

The senior teacher who is responsible for the AMID faculty and the Sixth Form has been with the academy since day one in September 2008.

She said: “I have enjoyed the job immensely as no two days are ever the same. I would say the thing I am most proud of is helping keep students in education where they can reach their full potential.”

Avril began her teaching career in her native Wales in the early 70s and has taught at schools in many different places from Liverpool to Kent, Norfolk and Northamptonshire.

Specialising in Design Technology Avril has also been responsible for pastoral care and careers advice.

In the 1980s she worked at Hewett School in Norfolk, which at the time was the largest secondary school in the country with 2,500 pupils.

She began teaching in Corby in 1993 at the Queen Elizabeth School, where she was responsible for setting up the alternative provision and establishing links with other colleges. This is a model that was replicated across the county.

Avril said: “Highlights of my time in the career have been hearing about the successes of the students who have achieved against the odds. That is always nice to hear.”

She added:  “I always said I would see the first cohort of students from the previous Corby Community College through until Year 11and I have done that. I will be sad to leave and will really miss the staff and students.”

Avril will be using her decades of experience to set up her own careers guidance service called Timely Advice Ltd. Through this she will have links with the schools in the Brooke Weston Partnership.

Acting Principal John Henrys said: "Avril has worked tirelessly with students to ensure that they have achieved the best outcomes possible and gone above and beyond to make sure students are best prepared for life after the academy. This is not goodbye however as Avril will be working with us in her new venture."