A PUPIL referral unit in Basingstoke has been transformed into an academy – the first to open under a new sponsorship agreement.

The Ashwood Academy, in Ashwood Way, Basingstoke, which caters for pupils who have been excluded from mainstream schools, is now part of Catch22 – a Department for Education approved sponsor of academies which supports under-achieving pupil referral units to turn around their performance.

It was officially opened last week by Dominic Herrington, regional schools commissioner of South East England and South London, from the Department for Education.

Ashwood has become the first unit to be sponsored by Catch22, after it was put in “special measures” in March 2013 by Ofsted and graded “inadequate”.

Although the unit has since been taken out of “special measures”, headteacher Graham Payne, who joined in April 2013, said he hopes the move will improve the school further.

He said: “There were changes made before but we have had more changes since we have become an academy. One of the main things is that Catch22, because of their wide range of experience dealing with other disadvantaged young people, they can give us advice with our curriculum and what we offer students.”

He added: “In order to improve their self-esteem they need other areas to achieve.”

Ashwood has just over 70 pupils on roll, and although it transformed into an academy in September 2014, it held an official opening ceremony last week.

Mr Payne said: “The idea is that if they can work out the formula and model that works here, which they will be able to do, we can use what we have learned to go to other centres.”