SADDLEWORTH School has moved a step closer to becoming an academy after receiving the green light from the Government.
The Diggle establishment announced last month its intention to join The Cranmer Education Trust.
The Department of Education has now approved the school’s application to become part of the educational trust which operates other schools across Oldham, including Blue Coat, Brian Clarke CE Academy, East Crompton St George’s Primary and Mayfield Primary in Derker.
A letter to parents said that governors had taken the decision to “provide the best possible opportunities for students and staff and for our school to secure sustained stability and development in the future”.
The statement from Mike Anderson, Headteacher, and Alice Rea, Head of Governors, said that the Huddersfield Road school will now “continue onto the next stages of the process”.
This will include a formal consultation with parents, carers, staff and other stakeholders – expected to take place in the spring term – and could take up to 18 months to complete whilst “robust and comprehensive due diligence processes are carried out”.
They added: “This is an exciting and important step in the process to becoming part of a strong and high quality trust where we can work in partnership with other schools for the benefit of the students and staff at Saddleworth School and for those of other schools within the Trust.”
A ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section is now up and running on the school’s website for the wider community to provide the latest information about the move.
In April, Mr Anderson insisted he had “absolute confidence” that the school – which accommodates up to 1,500 pupils after opening at its £27 million site in 2022 – is “headed in the right direction” despite receiving a ‘Requires Improvement’ rating from Ofsted.
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