A learning trust has welcomed four new schools into its fold.
Wessex Learning Trust (WLT) has enlisted Cheddar and Shipham, as well as Draycott and Rodney Stoke first schools, including Fairlands Middle School, in Cheddar, into to the trust.
The secondary education conglomerate, as of April 1, now looks after 13 schools – up from nine in the Cheddar Valley.
The trust oversees children’s learning from ages two up to 19 years old, and the schools join others in the area under WLT, including The Kings Of Wessex, Axbridge and Brent Knoll academies.
Chief Executive at WLT, Gavin Ball, said: “The trust’s growth is important so we are able to safeguard our educational ethos for the future.
“The addition of Cheddar, Draycott and Rodney Stoke, Shipham, and Fairlands to our trust marks a great milestone in collaboration across the Cheddar Valley.
“We sincerely look forward to the incredible things which we will be able to achieve by working together.”
The four places of learning were formally part of the Mendip Edge Federation, and WLT says it can ‘achieve new levels of collaboration between all schools’, which it says is set to benefit students and their parents in the district.
The addition of the schools to the trust means it is one of few in the country to form its feeder schools – places of education where most students progress to a set higher-level educational institution – within one trust.
Currently, all trust schools are closed to all but key workers since the Government’s lockdown announcement in March, to stop the rapid spread of coronavirus.
The trust’s advice is to ‘please stay at home and stay safe – we look forward to seeing you back in school soon’.
A spokesman for WLT said: “We believe that this new partnership will provide huge opportunities for our learners, our schools, and our staff, and we welcome our new partners into our Wessex family with open arms.
“Although, at this moment, education faces an unusual set of challenges in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, we nevertheless look forward to continuing our trust journey together.”
For more information, visit www.wessexlearningtrust.co.uk
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