Stratton Upper School proudly joins Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT)

Last Friday, principal Roz Hodges was delighted to welcome North East Beds MP Richard Fuller to the school, who celebrated the union and discussed its future with the students.

The school has become the first in Bedfordshire to join the trust, and CMAT and Stratton Upper School are delighted to be starting their journey with a grant from the Department of Education worth more than £3 million.

The school has already equipped a number of classrooms with state-of-the-art interactive whiteboard displays and got new laptops for staff, while the grant will also go towards new toilets, windows and roofs for the site.

Roz Hodges said: “We knew of CMAT because they were working with another school in the area and we got the sense that the trust shared the same values and principles as our school.

“Students and staff will benefit from a wide range of support and expertise which will help to further improve Stratton Upper School in many areas.”

Staff will be able to have joint meetings with colleagues at the trust’s other schools, working collaboratively on areas of the curriculum, while students will be able to benefit from away days with the different schools, taking part in drama and sporting activities.

CMAT currently operates 15 schools across an area extending from Stamford to Cambridge and in 2017 it was ranked as the fifth best performing multi-academy trust for Key Stage 4 in the Department of Education’s league tables.

Executive principal of CMAT Andy Daly said: “My role will be working with Roz and supporting her team in terms of the development and growth of the school.

“The main thing we hope to bring to the school is the shared values around the community; we are a local trust for people in the region.

“At CMAT, we believe that every pupil deserves a high-quality education in schools at the heart of their local communities and this is what we aim to deliver in our partnership with Stratton Upper School.”

A new Academy Council will be established with a minimum of eight members; six appointed by the trust (two members will be joining from the old governing body), and two parent elected members.

CMAT is also looking forward to working with Stratton and reaching out to local community groups, to encourage their use of the school facilities and to work together to hold events for the community and the pupils.

Ms Hodges added: “The reaction from the parents has been really positive, and I think what’s sold it to the parents is the value synergy between CMAT and Stratton.”

Mr Daly added: “We are committed to working with the local community and making sure their children go to a great school.”

CMAT and Stratton Upper School’s long-term plans include working with Central Bedfordshire Council and transforming Stratton into a secondary school for Years 7 to 13.

What does a ‘trust’ mean? Stratton Upper School is an academy run by a multi-academy trust.

Like all academies, it is funded directly by the government, not through the local authority.

A multi-academy trust is where a group of academies have joined together to form a single trust with a board of trustees answerable to the trust’s independent ‘members’ (who have an overview of the governance arrangements).