The Chief Executive Officer of the Aquinas Church of England Education Trust - a partnership between Bishop Justus Secondary School and Bromley Church of England primary schools within the Diocese of Rochester and the London Borough of Bromley - has expressed delight at welcoming two community schools into the Trust.
"From the outset, we were clear that we would not remain exclusively church and, at the request of the Regional Schools’ Commission last year, we began to share our expertise and capacity in the coastal area of East Sussex." says CEO Kathy Griffiths.
"In November we were delighted to welcome two community schools, one primary and one secondary, from Rye into the Aquinas Trust. This means that our Trust now operates across two geographical areas."
Find out more about the Aquinas Trust here
Andrew Ferguson, Lead Executive at Rye commented on joining the Trust “I firmly believe that joining the Aquinas Trust will give our schools greater stability and we are already seeing tangible improvements. Being part of Aquinas will lead to a brighter future for all our students and staff”.
Whilst neither school is or will become a Church of England school and neither are within the Diocese, they are very much a part of the Trust.
Kathy adds: "For those who are sceptical about Multi Academy Trusts and the impact they have, at Aquinas we hope to show that irrespective of area, school designation or level of challenge, effective education is truly transformational. Indeed, it is what the Church of England has historically provided in this country."
To discover more about Church of England schools within the Diocese visit the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education website here: