THREE secondaries, including the country’s first Fresh Start school, have failed in Newcastle’s West End over the past four years. But staff at the “new-model” replacement say they are here to stay.

All Saints college, which opened officially last week, is run by a public partnership of Newcastle University, the Church of England and the city council. It takes over from the named and shamed Blakelaw comprehensive, its replacement Fresh Start Firfield community college, nearby West Denton high, which failed its inspection in 2000, and two middle schools.

James Colquhoun, principal, said: “What happened at Firfield is all in the past. Parents from that catchment area have been through a lot but they know we are in it for the long run.”

His discipline “shock tactics” in the first six weeks of term saw 50 of the 1,000 pupils given fixed-term exclusions and two permanently excluded. And parents are supportive. Tracy Bateman, parent governor, said: “If the kids don’t do as they are told, it’s about time the school took charge.”

The college is undergoing a pound;6 million makeover and gets an extra pound;250,000 a year from the Government, which is keeping class sizes low. Its school day consists of four 75-minute lessons, separated by teacher-supervised breaks and lunches, to cut down on bullying and trouble-making.

Newcastle University offers continuing professional development and links with academics for teachers, and gives every sixth-former a student mentor. A progression coach encourages participation in higher education. The college has a seminar room for university students, a lecture theatre for pupils, and aims to become the “teaching hospital” equivalent for PGCE students at Newcastle.

The church provides a chaplain who spends a day a week in school, and funds for education welfare officers and health advisers.

Mr Colquhoun, who was headhunted by PriceWaterhouse Coopers on a pound;78,000 salary, left a Northamptonshire school with 88 per cent five A* to Cs at GCSE. The equivalent rate from the schools which have merged to form All Saints’ is 9 per cent, with a target next summer of 20 per cent.

It is a tall order, but Mrs Bateman said improvements were already noticeable: “Parents talking in the shopping centre say: ‘Have you seen what the children are doing now? Mine doesn’t come home until 4pm.’ And these are kids who didn’t used to go to school at all.”

THE WRITING ON THE WALL

Blakelaw comprehensive was named and shamed by David Blunkett and closed in 1998. Fresh Start Firfield community college opened on the same site with superhead Carole McAlpine, approved by Ofsted chief inspector David Bell, then Newcastle’s education director.

She resigned 18 months later. A Channel 4 documentary, “Making the Grade”, claimed truancy figures were misleading and teachers threatened industrial action over a non-exclusion policy. The school had a pound;200,000 deficit and failed to attract pupils.

West Denton high school failed its Ofsted inspection in February 2000. The city council decided to merge it with Firfield and two middle schools. The new All Saints college opened on the West Denton site.