The future of the Newark Trust (currently Pyrford Church of England Primary School) 

As part of a new, innovative and strategically important development for the future provision of high quality education in the Guildford Diocese, the Newark Trust is forming a partnership with Learning Partners Academy Trust (LPAT)  

The Newark Trust will be repurposed and renamed ‘Learning Partners Church Academy Trust’ (LPCAT). This agreement will enable the new Trust to grow capacity and to provide a home for church and community schools in the Diocese of Guildford, enabling those schools that join the Trust to benefit from the excellent established infrastructure of school support already offered by the Learning Partners Academy Trust (LPAT).  

The new Trust will remain a Church of England Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) in line with the academisation requirements of the national Church of England and the Diocese of Guildford and it will adopt the new Church of England Articles of Association. It will work in partnership with Learning Partners Academy Trust (LPAT) to continue to improve standards of education and outcomes for all children and to provide staff with professional development opportunities and support. All schools within the Learning Partners Church Academy Trust (LPCAT) will remain part of the wider Diocesan family of schools and will continue to receive support from the Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) to develop their individual Christian distinctiveness, ethos and values. 

Pyrford Church of England Primary School will initially be the first school to benefit from these new arrangements and it is anticipated that later in 2024 and beyond, Learning Partners Church Academy Trust (LPCAT) will expand to include other church (Voluntary Aided and Voluntary Controlled) and community schools who have not yet become academies and joined a Multi-Academy Trust. One of the additional benefits of this arrangement will be the opportunity it allows to provide continuity across the entirety of a child’s education from 4 to 18 yrs drawing on the secondary school expertise of the Learning Partners Academy Trust. 

As part of the transition to the new arrangements, Jack Mayhew, currently CEO of Learning Partners, will be seconded to the new Trust as interim CEO in order to set up the new partnership. He will work closely with the Trustees of the Newark Trust and Alex Tear, Diocesan Director of Education, Diocese of Guildford, in setting up the new arrangements and transitioning Pyrford Primary School’s move from the Newark Trust to Learning Partners Church Academy Trust. 

This new partnership provides an exciting and innovative approach to Church and Community schools working together within the Diocese of Guildford, now and in the future.

Julia Lamaison, Chair of Newark Trustees

Alex Tear, Diocesan Director of Education, Diocese of Guildford

Jack Mayhew, Chief Executive, Learning Partners