Bristol schools join forces for Co-operative Trust

Four schools in south Bristol are to form the city's first Co-operative Trust schools.

Ashton Park School, which was built in 1954 and is undergoing a £17 million revamp on its site at Bower Ashton, will be joined by three primary schools: Ashton Vale, Compass Point: South Street School and Children's Centre, and Luckwell School.

They will form The South West Bristol Co-operative Learning Trust which comes into being on April 1. Partner organisations in the trust will be The Co-operative Group, Bristol City Council's Children's and Young People's Services, the University of the West of England, Bristol City Football Club and Futurelab, an educational research company based in Bristol. "This is a significant moment in the history of all our schools" said Sue Roberts, head of Luckwell School.

"We are pleased that the local authority wanted to be a trust partner as we value their continued support in developing our improvement strategy," said Viv Champeney, head teacher of Ashton Vale School.

School land and buildings will be placed into a charitable trust while the governing bodies of each school will remain independent of each other and be able to make their own decisions. Ashton Park will maintain its links with other schools and will also continue as a Specialist Sports College supporting 47 schools in south Bristol.

Chris Gardner, head of Ashton Park, said: "We see this as a very important part of our role in helping our community lead healthy lives and enjoy sport and exercise in the widest sense. However, by collaborating together and with our trust partners we can create a much more exciting curriculum for our students.

"A fundamental principle of the co-operative values that attracted governors to this type of educational trust is engaging the local community in the type of education they want for their children," said Sue Roberts.

Over the next year the four schools will be setting up a membership scheme for pupils, staff, parents, local organisations and residents to join.

"Together we provide education and care for children from 0 – 19 years and their families, with these Trust partners we will be encouraging our whole community to support that responsibility," said Caroline Reynolds, head teacher of Compass Point: South Street School and Children's Centre.

People and organisations who want to improve educational learning opportunities and attainment for pupils, as well as improving their aspirations and enhancing community cohesions would be welcome to join.

Parents were first told of the proposals for the schools to be become part of the Co-operative Trust last November and consultation has continued since then.

More than 200 schools in the country are now Co-operative Trust Schools.