Telford Priory School to move to new trust

The Learning Community Trust (LCT) runs more than a dozen primary and secondary school sites across Shropshire including Hadley Learning Community, Charlton, Ercall Wood and – from January next year - Burton Borough School in Newport.

Now it has been announced that Telford Priory School in Wrockwardine Wood is also joining.

Telford Priory School is currently part of the Community Academies Trust, the Tamworth-based trust that had also run Telford Park School in Stirchley.

Earlier this month, Telford Park School announced it would be leaving the Community Academies Trust and was to be taken over by Wolverhampton-based provider Amethyst Academies Trust.

David Barber, acting headteacher at Telford Priory School, said: “The Learning Community Trust has an enviable reputation locally and regionally for meeting the needs of the communities they serve, and for improving the life chances of the young people in their care.

“We are delighted to be joining LCT because of the opportunities it will provide for our children and our community. Their expertise, commitment to young people and their communities, and their vision for sustained improvement is what the school and all associated with it deserve.”

A series of meetings will be held in the coming weeks between representatives of the trust and the community, where families can ask about the transfer and find out how the new trust will be working with the school.

David said: “As always, parents are our most important partners in education and we look forward to taking this journey as we move forward.

“I am confident that this is a change that will allow the school to progress quickly and confidently to meet the needs of everyone.”

LCT chief executive Jane Hughes said: “While LCT schools share common values, we also recognise the importance of the local community and context – so our schools have their own distinct identities which complement our shared vision and mutual values.

“We are a community-based Trust and all our secondary academies are based within the local Telford and Wrekin area.

“We are passionate about providing an excellent educational service to our communities, with an equal priority for communication and inclusion for all our families.

“We will be holding the first of a series of community engagement sessions in early January, and we welcome and would encourage families to attend as we are very keen to hear their insights into the direction and developments the school will take as it moves into our trust.”

A spokesperson for the Community Academies Trust said: "We are proud of The Telford Priory School’s improvements as it works to overcome the challenges of the last 2 years post-Covid. This year the school celebrated much-improved and record GCSE outcomes.

"The transition to Learning Community Trust represents a positive next step for the school."

Other schools which are part of the Learning Community Trust include Lantern at Ketley Bank, Wrekin View in Wellington, Allscott Meads, Crudgington, Severndale of Shrewsbury, and Queensway which has two sites in Telford.