Maria met the Head Teacher Julie Rose and David Triggs, CEO of the Academies Enterprise Trust, which is the sponsoring body for the new Academy, as well as Nicole Wheatley and Chris Page, the Head Girl and Head Boy of the Academy. Maria had a tour of the school, and was able to meet a number of pupils and staff.

Commenting on her visit, Maria said: “Children in Basingstoke need to have a good strong education, and I was glad to see that Everest is clearly going from strength to strength.”

Maria added: “I believe that it is important for schools’ governing bodies to have a choice as to whether they want to become academies.  Academy status gives Head Teachers the freedom to do things in a different way in order to raise educational standards. I was very interested to hear how Everest is benefitting from being part of AET’s network of academies, learning from the experience of other schools that have converted to Academies.”