John Taylor MAT successful in free school bid
12th April 2017
The Department for Education has announced this morning that John Taylor MAT has been successful in its application to run the new free school being constructed in Tatenhill. Opening in September 2018, the school will serve 11-18 year-olds in the locality, particularly the new housing developments in and around Branston Locks.
The £30 million construction, the first secondary school to be built in Staffordshire for almost twenty years, was one of 131 new free schools announced in this latest wave of applications. It is amongst one of the largest approved and, once at full capacity, will have approximately 1600 students on its roll.
CEO of the Trust, Mike Donoghue expressed his delight upon hearing the news: “It is both an amazing opportunity, and a deeply humbling honour to be given the privilege to lead the new school and help shape its community. As what will be the newest addition to our family of schools, we are committed to giving our all to make its children academically successful and personally well-rounded – young people that their parents, and we, can be proud of. The first steps on that journey started some time ago with our vision for the new school, and our pace will now quicken with this approval of our plans. Our application team have worked tirelessly towards today, and this is a much-deserved reward for their efforts. The group now becomes the delivery team, and I’m incredibly fortunate to be working alongside them. We have a busy time ahead!”
Chair of John Taylor MAT, Gareth Moss added: “We are delighted that the achievements demonstrated within our existing schools have been reflected with this prestigious appointment to run the new school in Tatenhill. Our proposal was based on providing the best possible education to this new school and we look forward to being an integral part of the new community. The Trust and staff are delighted with this success and we will make the School one that we can all be proud of.
This achievement would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all of the staff across the Trust and I would like to thank them for their determination to provide the best education possible for our pupils.”
The trust has been recording interest in the free school from prospective parents, prospective staff and the wider community via its website: https://jtmat.co.uk/our-trust/free-school-bid/free-school-expression-of-interest/
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