Sunderland’s South Hylton Primary Academy is celebrating joining the growing Laidlaw Schools Trust (LST) with a determination to deliver even more educational opportunities for its pupils.
The popular academy is home to 334 pupils aged between two and 11 drawn from the surrounding Pennywell, Highfield, Pallion and Ford Estate areas, with 34 staff teaching children from nursery years upwards.
South Hylton Primary is the second Sunderland school to join the thriving LST in this school year – near neighbour Academy 360 in Pennywell joining the trust and its three schools in Newcastle.
For headteacher Julie Cort, joining LST is the chance to share expertise with Academy 360 and fellow trust members, to ensure its pupils enjoy the best possible start in life.
“It presents us the opportunity of working closely as part of an exciting multi-academy trust with proven success in enhancing children’s lives through enriched curriculums,” said Julie.
“The majority of our children go on to Academy 360 so it made good sense that our children were given the same experiences and opportunities – and it allows our staff to work more closely with Academy 360 to follow through our pupils’ journeys.
“We have had positive feedback from parents who trust our judgement as a good school – they have heard about the success of the Laidlaw Schools Trust and how sponsor Lord Laidlaw creates opportunities through his generosity that other schools don’t get.”
South Hylton Primary’s last three Ofsted reports have all rated the academy as ‘good’, with its latest assessment just four months ago.
Jane Spence, LST Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that South Hylton Primary Academy is joining our growing family of schools.
“We look forward to having a hub of schools in Sunderland in the same way that we have a hub in Newcastle. All the headteachers and staff across the trust work closely together and the children have joint activities and opportunities to learn together.”
In 2008, Lord Laidlaw set up the Laidlaw Schools Trust to give young people in disadvantaged areas of the North East life chances they otherwise would not have.
He invests in improving trust academy facilities and extra-curricular activities.
The LST now educates more than 4,000 children in five North East schools – Excelsior Academy, Thomas Walling and Atkinson Road Primary Academies in Newcastle and Academy 360 and South Hylton Primary Academy in Sunderland.