Shropshire school makes leap to academy status
A top-performing school has gained academy status and established a trust in a bid to secure its financial future.
Oldbury Wells School in Bridgnorth has been given Multi Academy Trust Status after forming the Bridgnorth Area Schools' Trust.
The high school will lead the new trust, which has also been created to support schooling across Bridgnorth and surrounding areas.
The trust was registered with Companies House in June and was officially formed this month. The school has been granted lead status within the new trust because it is seen as a high performing school with a good or better Ofsted rating.
Oldbury Wells will be able to help and aid smaller local schools in the future if they begin to suffer financially or perform badly.
Judy Mondon, chair of governors, said: "Our schools' continued good performance and stability is the reason we have been granted this status.
"We are very pleased with the recognition and very proud of the students and the school."
The school was given permission to lead the trust and granted Multi Academy Status because it was rated "good" by Ofsted and its GCSE results were also high.
Exam results were 11 per cent above the national average in 2014 and the school was positioned second in the county in GCSE league tables.
Headteacher Sarah Godden said establishing the trust coincided with calls by Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, about the plan to use high performing schools to improve underperforming schools, along with further partnerships between existing academies.
She said: "This is a positive change we have decided to make.
"We have seen many local changes in schools and felt it was necessary to be community minded and consider how we can best support learning in our area.
"As a school we are committed to local education and have been for a long time.
"We want our new Multi Academy Trust to grow from local partnerships that already exist, and to help bring about the best learning for pupils that we can, beyond our own school gates."
Oldbury Wells School was ranked as one of the best in Shropshire for GCSE results last year.
Nearly seven out of every 10 pupils at the school, 68 per cent, got five or more GCSE grades at C or above, including English and maths.
It placed the school as one of the highest in Shropshire through the Department for Education's new league tables.
