This year marks the 10th anniversary of the creation of The Royal Harbour Academy in Ramsgate.
To celebrate the milestone, staff, governors current and past, ex-students, and members of the community gathered on Friday 12th September for an afternoon of reflection and celebration.
The event, held at the school, featured an informal afternoon tea accompanied by background music, as guests shared memories, explored a memory book filled with photos and stories and enjoyed video highlights showcasing the school’s journey over the past decade.
In his remarks, Headteacher Simon Pullen, reflected on how proud he was of the students and staff and all the work that has gone into making the school such a success.
Over the past decade, the school has gone from strength to strength and become a school of choice in Ramsgate, with some 240 students in this year’s Year 7.
Simon Pullen thanked Kate Greig, CEO of the Coastal Academies Trust, for the work the trust has done to support the ongoing development of the school.
On Wednesday 10th September, the school marked its 10th birthday with current students, who enjoyed cake together to celebrate the occasion. Students have also been writing letters filled with their favourite RHA memories, which will be buried in a time capsule for future generations to discover.
This anniversary year will continue to see the RHA community celebrating in a variety of ways, with events and activities planned across the academic year to honour the school’s journey and achievements.
RHA was formed by a merger of the Marlowe Academy and The Ellington & Hereson School in 2015 after falling student numbers and financial crisis marked the end of the Marlowe.
The government provided a £2.8 million subsidy over four years to support the merger.
The Marlowe Academy had historically struggled. It opened at a new £30million building on the existing Ramsgate School footprint in 2005 and was the first academy in Kent.
The financial crisis in 2015 spelt the end of both the Marlowe and academy status. The school returned to county council control and merged with Hereson and Ellington, itself made up from the merger of the boys school and the girls school in 2009, to become the RHA in September 2015.
Ellington & Hereson head teacher Simon Pullen took over the top role for the newly combined academy.
