The Potteries Educational Trust (PET) celebrates an exciting year of growth as its first Associate Member; Biddulph High School announces its commitment to join the PET as a Full Member from the 1^st September 2019. The partnership has gone from strength to strength as it aims to become the leading collective learning community in the area.

The City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College successfully applied for academy status back in 2017 where it pledged to become a Multi Academy Trust but with a difference. The PET promised a holistic education delivered to the highest standard through innovative teaching methods, shared access to resources and best practice across its members. This would provide young people with access to exceptional educational facilities from ages 4 through to 18.

Stating its aims from the outset, the core message is to create an educational community that continues to grow and expand, but still allowing each school to thrive as individuals for the benefit of the local area, helping to improve the delivery of education throughout every stage of a student’s academic life and working together to provide an integrated approach to education.

After a successful year working together, Biddulph High School announced its intentions to join the PET as a Full Member from September 2019 following formal approval by the Regional Head Teachers Board. The partnership has also attracted interest from Moorside High School and Werrington Primary School who have now confirmed to join as Associate Members this academic year.

Mark Kent, Chief Executive Officer of the PET and Sixth Form College Principal said,

“I am delighted that Biddulph High School is moving towards becoming a Full Member of the Potteries Educational Trust from September 1^st and also to welcome Moorside High School and Werrington Primary School as new Associate Members from the start of this term.

“All of this shows the growth of our collective learning community and the value we place on each individual child and young person and the schools, colleges and communities they come from. We look forward to working together in the months and years ahead to provide the very best education for all and to help all our students aspire to be the best they can be.”

Simon Ascroft, Head Teacher of Biddulph High School expands,

“Biddulph High School is delighted to be moving towards Full Membership of the Potteries Educational Trust from September 2019.

“Together we will strive for excellence in both academic achievement and life experiences for our students. We are committed to ensuring that we remain true to our values and avoid a centralised, corporate approach, instead focusing upon our diversity and individuality as institutions.

“Joining a growing learning community with students from nursery to university age will help to ensure the development of the very best practice in teaching, learning and research which will help us to enhance the educational provision for all.”

The PET are the only Trust in the area to offer an ‘Associate Membership’ which is a trial period of 18 months for schools to experience the support and value gained from the PET before committing to join the Trust. During this period schools receive access to shared teaching practices, materials and resources as well as enhanced support to students.

Simon Clarke, Head Teacher of Moorside High School recently joined the PET and shares his thoughts,

“We are delighted to be working with a Trust that shares the same core values.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to work collaboratively with other schools in the Trust to ensure our students receive an outstanding education and clear progression paths.

“There is a whole wealth of expertise within the Trust that can only serve to strengthen the delivery of a first class education for all of our students. “

The focus of the PET is to bring organisations together to create individual ‘hubs’ of excellence that share and develop resources, curricular and extra-curricular activities as well as building lasting partnerships with schools, colleges, universities and businesses across the region to get involved in curriculum projects to provide a comprehensive, varied and highly specialised education that goes beyond qualifications.

Phil McLauchlan, Headteacher of Werrington Primary School elaborates,

“Werrington Primary School are delighted to share the exciting news that we have joined the Potteries Educational Trust as an Associate Member.

“We are all very excited about this next stage in the development of our school. We share many common values with our friends from the Potteries Educational Trust (PET), placing children at the centre of everything we do and believe.

“Our developing relationship with PET has fantastic potential to further improve learning opportunities and raise aspirations for our children and community.”

The PET has already been able to deliver exciting projects in conjunction with Biddulph High School where the institutions have been able to develop curriculum areas together through shared teaching as well as shared use of each other’s facilities that each institution may not have had readily available before. For example, just last summer the Sixth Form College’s drama students were able to use Biddulph High School’s theatre facilities for their own college production.

This unique approach to education has attracted a number of Primary and High Schools across the Potteries who are currently thinking about joining as Associate Members of the PET in the coming months.