Leigh-on-Mendip First School, Shoscombe, St Julian’s and St John’s are the latest schools to announce that they have joined the Midsomer Norton Schools’ Partnership Multi-Academy Trust (MAT).

Approved by the Secretary of State for Education, this conversion will allow the Schools to have more control over their day-to-day operations within the support network offered by the MNSP MAT. The partnership now operates one First School and thirteen Primary Schools in the Midsomer Norton area, as well as the two Secondary Schools in the town and St Dunstan’s Secondary in Glastonbury.

Louisa Phillips, Head of Leigh-on-Mendip School, said: “Joining the trust will enable our staff to work closely with the other schools to share and further develop good practice, which will benefit our pupils and the whole school community.

“The Midsomer Norton Schools’ Partnership will also give us a fresh challenge as we continue to provide the very highest quality experiences and outcomes for our children without losing the unique ethos of Leigh-on-Mendip School.”

Ruth Noall, Headteacher of Shoscombe and St Julian’s, said: “We are delighted to be joining the MNSP Trust. Shoscombe Church School and St Julian’s Church School, as The Church Valley Schools Federation, already has a strong relationship of collaboration and sharing good practice. Under the steady guidance of our one governing body, we aim to be ‘small schools with big aspirations; branching out for learning’.

“Joining the MNSP will enable us to work alongside colleagues in other schools of similar and different contexts to further strengthen and develop our practice. I am confident that through joining the MNSP, the Church Valley Schools will continue to go from strength to strength, enabling us to continue providing the excellent well-rounded and enriching education that make our rural schools so special.”