SGS Academy Trust South Gloucestershire
and Stroud Academy Trust Menu

Pate’s Grammar School to become School Improvement Partner for The SGS Academy

10th February 2015

The newly formed SGS Academy Trust will formally take over sponsorship of The Forest Academy located in Cinderford, Gloucestershire on 1st March 2015 after it emerged that there was a risk the school would close if a new sponsor wasn’t found. The new partnership with Pate’s Grammar, Cheltenham, will have a significant impact in the first instance on the performance and academic opportunities available to young people at the Forest Academy.

Recognised by Ofsted as Outstanding in 2013, Pate’s Grammar School will be working in partnership with The SGS Academy Trust and will have a particular focus on developing school leaders and the delivery of outstanding teaching and learning. Pate’s will undertake regular monitoring visits to all schools in the Trust, maintaining a programme of raising performance expectations and providing practical guidance and coaching for teaching staff and managers.

The school is delivering the support as part of their work as a Teaching School. The Odyssey Teaching School Alliance includes a number of partner organisations in the area and is working with local schools to improve outcomes.

Kevin Hamblin, Principal of SGS and CEO of the newly formed SGS Academy Trust, comments ‘it is common for schools to work with each other to constructively challenge the performance of another school. We have gone to one of the best schools in the country to act as our school improvement partner as it sets out our ambition to become outstanding.

‘Pate’s are an outstanding school and they will provide rigour to the development and implementation of all our quality procedures. This will give parents and pupils the confidence that the approach to teaching and learning at all schools within our Trust, reflects the best practices of a school such as Pate’s Grammar’.

Pate’s staff are all exceptional practitioners and will ensure the Trust develops a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning. The Grammar School will also advise the Trust on the appropriateness of the curriculum offer at each school to ensure all pupils have access to the very best achievement and progression pathways.