Three Oxford schools to join River Learning Trust in February

Cheney School in Headington, along with Barton Park and Bayards Hill primary schools, is due to become part of the River Learning Trust (RLT) in the new year.

The three schools had previously made up the Community Schools Alliance Trust (CSAT) but will join RLT in February.

Speaking after the Oxford Mail revealed that CSAT was joining RLT, Cheney’s headteacher Rob Pavey said he was ‘looking forward to the opportunity to collaborate constructively with other RLT schools in the city’.

He added: “Our ethos at Cheney are based on, among other things, creativity, curiosity, education over league tables, the needs of students over data, and self-discipline.

“We value academic intelligence, success, knowledge and rigour – but we equally value emotional intelligence, wellbeing, self-knowledge and humanity.

“Through the new partnership with RLT, we hope that it will become easier to fulfil this ethos.

“We have always been keen to cooperate with our close friends and neighbours at other city schools, and the structure of being in the same trust will make that easier to achieve and more productive.

“We strongly believe this is going to be a very good thing for many, many children in Oxford.”

Cheney School in Headington. Picture: Jon Lewis

Cheney School became an academy in 2013, before forming CSAT with Bayards Hill the following year.

Bayards Hill headteacher Charley Eaglestone said: “I am delighted that we are joining RLT.

“The school has already benefited from support the trust has provided – something that was noted in our recent visit from Ofsted – and we are excited about taking advantage of being part of a large multi-academy trust that is committed to providing excellent education.”

Bayards Hill Primary School. Picture: Ric Mellis

Barton Park joined CSAT when it opened on the Barton Park estate in September of last year.

The school’s headteacher, Bryony McCraw, said: “All the staff are looking forward to becoming part of a large and supportive trust that shares our vision of excellence for all.

“We know that the whole school community will benefit from the experience of the leadership team at RLT during this vital period of growth for us.”

Barton Park Primary School. Picture: Oxfordshire County Council

RLT is made up of 25 primary and secondary schools, 23 of which are in Oxfordshire, as well as Oxfordshire Teacher Training, a school-centred teacher training body.

The trust runs three Oxford secondaries, The Cherwell, The Swan and The Oxford Academy, in addition to four outside the city.