Home Academy Improvement Our Academies Central Team Governance COVID-19 Testing Jobs Teaching Schools Contact Welcome to The GORSE Academies Trust ALL CHILDREN EXCEL REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND T he GORSE Academies Trust has an increasingly well-known reputation for changing the deal for children and young adults who come from some of the most impoverished parts of the country. Our central mission is to ensure that we play a significant role in removing the stubborn link between poverty and academic underperformance. Consequently, our students and our professionals are in the vanguard of the national drive which seeks to prove that where teaching is excellent, leadership inspiring and behaviour standards exemplary all children excel regardless of background. Because of the trust’s reputation, we are also seeing the development of a new approach to academisation which is bringing already strong and successful schools forward to convert as new partners within The GORSE Academies Trust. Those schools recognise the enormous advantage that comes from belonging to a network of excellence in both leadership and teaching, and we as a trust recognise that there is much to be gained when great organisations are brought together. WE AS A TRUST RECOGNISE THAT THERE IS MUCH TO BE GAINED WHEN GREAT ORGANISATIONS ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER Our final aim is to challenge the underperformance of other schools and academies through the excellence of our own work. In particular, we have sought to do this through taking advantage of the free schools programme and our trust will continue to look to develop new schools and to sponsor already existing schools in areas of significant educational underperformance. We believe that all great organisations have a role to play in agitating the system. WE BELIEVE THAT ALL GREAT ORGANISATIONS HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN AGITATING THE SYSTEM Nevertheless, our trust is also proud of its generosity in sharing ideas and approaches to the development of teaching and leadership with partners regionally and nationally. We are also humble, and take great enjoyment in learning from others including the very best practitioners nationally and internationally but also those struggling most in their work. This is because we believe that all schools contain areas of brilliance and it is for us as professionals to seek them out, understand their success and ensure that their magic is disseminated. We hope that anyone spending time in any of our schools would come to appreciate and understand the values that we hold dear, and which for us are not open to negotiation. Our schools are happy places where everyone understands the importance of working hard and recognising the success of others. We are tough on poor behaviour, quick to praise and determined to ensure that children who have very little enjoy access to a rigorous academic education. This includes A Level study which, in our opinion, represents a true measure of social mobility. We have been determined to build slowly, and to manage our expansion and development as a trust in a manner which minimises risk and ensures the continuing excellence of academies within our group. We are of the view that The GORSE Academies Trust is close to establishing a national model of excellence which could and probably will be replicated right across the country. This model is built upon a form of intimate and devoted partnership which succeeds only through a geographical proximity which fosters the building of excellent relationships across student, professional, parental and leadership networks. WE ARE OF THE VIEW THAT THE GORSE ACADEMIES TRUST IS CLOSE TO ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL MODEL OF EXCELLENCE Critical to that structure is our School Centred Initial Teacher Training (GORSE SCITT) which opened in September 2015 and was judged by Ofsted to be Outstanding in all areas in November 2017. It is our view that the great system leaders of the next decade will be great because of the quality of their teacher training which includes the training of brilliant new entrants to the profession. This will see teaching returning to a position whereby the most important single quality that we will hope to find in all teachers is a passion and love for their subject and a determination to share that love with young people, regardless of background. GREAT SYSTEM LEADERS OF THE NEXT DECADE WILL BE GREAT BECAUSE OF THE QUALITY OF THEIR TEACHER TRAINING Our SCITT is led through The Morley Academy’s Teaching School status. We are also very proud of the other areas of Teaching School status which are being driven by our second Teaching School The Farnley Academy which has a particular focus on school to school support and research and development. Over the course of the next two years we expect to be producing research papers which have an influence on national educational policy development. 0113 487 8888 c/o John Smeaton Academy, Smeaton Approach, Barwick Road, Leeds, LS15 8TA info@tgat.org.uk © Copyright The GORSE Academies Trust | Privacy Notice | Website Privacy Notice The GORSE Academies Trust, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 07465701.