College, and was also a Leading Edge school; its sixth form Technology College opened in 2004. In 2006, the Office of the Schools Adjudicator published a decision on an objection to the admission arrangements of the academy. The adjudicator, Alan Parker, upheld the objection. He stated that the use of the first preference first criteria could militate against the free expression of parental choice in some cases and offered no advantages that would outweigh this potential disadvantage. In respect of the application for partial selection he also concluded that for a number of years the academy had been using a process that does not constitute selection according to aptitude which was neither fair nor consistent. 2010 onwards George Spencer's fiftieth birthday was scheduled to come in 2010, and it came there–the milestone was marked by turning the grey globe on the logo gold with a "50"."60s Day" took place on 19 November 2010 and an aerial photo of everyone associated with the school arranged in a "50" was due to take place on the main playing field on 24 March 2011 but was later cancelled. On 17 August 2010, following consideration of all the consultation feedback, the governing body of George Spencer Foundation School took the decision to continue the conversion to Academy status. After approval from the Secretary of State Michael Gove, the school successfully converted with effect from 1 September 2010, and was in the first wave of converted schools. On 21 October 2010, George Spencer's hall was used as a venue for a question-and-answer session on government spending cuts, which saw prime ministers David Cameron and Nick Clegg (a deputy prime minister) visiting the school in the afternoon. Also, ITV broadcast live from the hall for their breakfast television programme Daybreak on 25 August 2011, showing several students opening their GCSE results. To raise money for the 2011 Year 11 prom, students organised the academy's first music festival–The Big Friday Night–which was held on 6 May from 6:30 pm. Singers and bands from the school performed on a portable stage on the school field. As a result of its success, the event returned on 30 March 2012. In 2019, the new principal Helen Corbett was appointed. She has been kept principal since 2019. Academic performance and achievements Known for its reputatable GCSE and A-Level results, the academy received the second-best set of GCSE results from the Nottinghamshire