Pupils Say Behaviour Has Improved at New Academy.

According to a survey of pupils themselves, vandalism, graffiti, littering, and bullying are all thought to be much less of a problem at a new Academy in Bristol.

Pupils who perceived that vandalism was at least ‘a bit of a problem’ in their school decreased from 84 per cent of respondents to 33 per cent.

Those who perceived that bullying was a big problem decreased from 39 per cent of students in the ‘before’ survey, to 16 per cent in the ‘after’ survey.

Students at Brunel Academy say they feel safer and enjoy going to school more now because of their new surroundings, according to a study conducted by the National Foundation for Education Research into the effects of the school environment on young people’s attitudes to education and learning.

Pupils described the school as ‘inspirational’, ‘colourful’, ‘motivational’, ‘stimulating’ and ‘comfortable’. The numbers of students who said they now planned to stay on in the sixth form or go to college rose from 64 per cent to 77 per cent after the new buildings opened.

The ‘before’ and ‘after’ survey of around 200 students at the brand-new Bristol Brunel Academy, which opened in September 2007, suggests a strong association between the move to new surroundings and students’ outlooks regarding their experience of school and their expectation for the future.

The majority of teachers questioned also provided positive feedback about their new environment, saying they enjoyed teaching more and felt more motivated and proud to be a teacher at the school.