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Northmead Junior School

Northmead Junior School

Athena Schools Trust

Athena Schools Trust

Confirmation of Decision to convert to an Academy as part of the Athena Schools Trust (AST)

Due to the fact that the educational landscape is changing, the governing body at Northmead has been exploring the possibilities of how to maintain all the necessary services to provide the best education possible for our children. We came together with like-minded, local schools to establish a framework in which we could work together on this in a newly formed Multi Academy Trust. This Trust was shaped by all involved schools and we will continue to be involved to ensure it works in the interest of our children. We are delighted to inform you that following a unanimous vote the Governors of all the schools have confirmed their decision to convert to Academy status, and to join the Athena Schools Trust. The proposed date of conversion is 1 September 2018. Although this date could be delayed for a few weeks due to finalising some legal agreements, it will in no way affect the decision or our participation in AST.

The Governors’ decision follows a thorough public consultation exercise and a programme of legal, financial and organisational due diligence. We would like to thank all parents, carers and other stakeholders who took the opportunity to share their views during the consultation. The full details of the consultation discussions and responses are available on our website.

The Athena Schools Trust is a newly formed multi-academy trust which comprises 5 local schools:

  • Guildford County School
  • Northmead Junior School
  • Pirbright Village Primary School
  • Shalford Infant School
  • Stoughton Infant and Nursery School

The ethos of the Athena Schools Trust is that we are better together. We plan to work collaboratively to build the best schools in our communities, and to deliver an outstanding education to every child. Key to the Governors’ decision was the view that the school and our pupils will benefit not just from sharing services and resources, but from collaborating on educational best practice and innovation. The education landscape is constantly changing, and we believe that working with other schools in our area will equip us to better respond to these challenges. The overall ethos of the AST is to improve the education for all the children.

Many of the changes resulting from joining AST will be administrative and will happen behind the scenes. You shouldn’t notice any difference in the day-to-day running of the school. The school’s name, logo, uniform, hours, term dates and curriculum will remain unchanged. As you do now, any queries or issues should be addressed to Debbie Brown – Headteacher . The Governors will continue to operate as a Local Governing Body and will be represented on the AST Joint Governors’ Council, along with the other AST schools.

Many thanks for all your support so far. We look forward to starting an exciting new chapter for the school.