Seven schools in and around Burnham-On-Sea have joined a new schools trust following a merger this week.
It follows the merger of Castle School Education Trust (CSET) and The Priory Learning Trust (TPLT), forming a new organisation called Pathway Trust.
The unified trust now oversees more than 11,000 pupils across 20 primary and secondary schools in South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Somerset – including seven schools in and around Burnham-On-Sea.
The seven local schools are King Alfred School Academy, St Andrew’s Church Junior School, Berrow Church Primary School, Burnham-On-Sea Infant School, East Huntspill Primary School, Pawlett Primary School, and West Huntspill Primary School.
The merger follows three years of formal collaboration between the two trusts, during which leaders say they saw clear benefits from working together.
“Coming together as a single family of schools is central to our shared ambition of achieving a great education for every child,” says Will Roberts, pictured, Chief Executive of Pathway Trust.
“Through working together, we have significantly improved outcomes in recent years. Across a larger trust, we can more easily connect colleagues and direct resources where they make the biggest impact.”
Leaders say the merger will bring several key benefits, including strengthened collaboration across all twenty member schools, improved purchasing power, and the ability to reinvest savings directly into classrooms and staff development.
As an employer of more than 1,700 staff, Pathway Trust is also expanding its professional development offer, from initial teacher training and early‑career support to apprenticeships and leadership pathways.
The trust says it remains focused on using its increased scale to build a ‘resilient, forward‑thinking educational environment’ across the region, with a clear emphasis on achieving a great education for every child. Further details can be found at www.pathwaytrust.uk.
