The Wakefield Schools Trust is a collaborative partnership whose aim is improving education for the children of Wakefield. Our mission is ‘Raising standards through collaboration and support” and all schools are committed to working together in partnership in order to raise standards in each school and across the Wakefield District.

The Trust takes the form of a Company Limited by Guarantee and is run by a board of Trustees. Every school that has joined the Trust will contribute to and benefit from a unique school improvement offer and the support that is offered by an independent collective of like-minded schools.

Each of the schools and Single Academy Trusts who make up the Wakefield Schools Trust will remain autonomous institutions with their own Governing Bodies, legal responsibilities and independent Head Teachers with powers that continue, unaltered. Schools are free to join and leave the Trust under the normal rules of a business partnership. This is not a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) and the member schools are free to come and go should they wish. The Trust will also retain close ties with the local authority in order to create a self-improving school system in the Wakefield District.

Our guiding principles are to challenge, help, support and improve our member schools and academies to ensure that all our young people succeed. Over time we also intend to establish a system that delivers efficiency, effectiveness and growing economies of scale so that maximum resources can be reinvested directly into classroom practice, learning and teaching.

Every school, as a member, has a voice in the decision-making process, through the Trust’s open and transparent governance. Moreover, the Trust values the diversity which exists in our schools and actively encourages each school joining the Trust to maintain and further develop its own distinctive culture and identity. As a Trust we intend to become a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

United in the principle of different schools, one family we have pledged to work together to help and support one another at a time when education budgets are severely stretched in a voluntary partnership of schools where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and whose goal is to raise standards in each and every Trust school without any of them losing its individuality, independence, freedom or uniqueness.

Students at Minsthorpe Community College are, yet again, celebrating an excellent set of GCSE results which saw record breaking outcomes in the proportion of students achieving a grade 9-5 in English and Maths. We continue to be particularly delighted with our superb English results which have consistently been above national progress rates for several years.

The GCSE and vocational achievements do not stop there and following the great A level results last week a wide range of subjects across college have made a significant impact on the life chances of our students. The Joint Principals Mr Gilmore and Mrs Merritt state, ‘It is truly a team effort and everyone plays their part in motivating our students to be the best that they can be. Our fantastic results are reliant on the hard work and commitment of all the students, staff and parents which made these results possible’.

There were many individual student successes, but in particular special mention goes to Luke Hickton, Drew Staniforth, Joe Allen, Lucy McNally, Abi Nicholson and Millie Smith. These students not only achieved multiple 9-7 grades but demonstrated fantastic progress throughout their time at Minsthorpe Community College due their outstanding attendance and dedication to their learning.

We are delighted that lots of our students are now returning to Minsthorpe’s Post 16 to continue their learning journey and would like to wish those who have chosen other paths into apprenticeships or employment the very best for the future.

To see our headline figures please click here.

Post-16 students at Minsthorpe Community College continue to achieve excellent results, opening the door to higher education, employment and training for young people in south-east Wakefield.

The proportion of students achieving pass grades has increased significantly over the past five years and represents the strongest performance ever in this measure at 98.2%. Over the same period, the College has also seen an upward trend in the proportion of A*-C grades, with two thirds of entries now achieving these tremendous grades at A-Level.

These results mean that a record 96% of students are able to attend their first choice of university, with 75% of these being the first in their immediate family (first generation) to go on to higher education. A significant number of students have also successfully secured higher level apprenticeships with local companies.

There were numerous individual student successes but in particular special mention goes to Molly Hoskins (A*AB), Naomi Cadman (ABC) and Kurt French (B, Distinction, Merit). Both Caitlin Kirkham and Kendall Neville achieved Distinction*, Distinction*, Distinction, Owen Cheung achieved Distinction, Distinction, Distinction; which is an excellent set of results in vocational subjects.

The strength of ‘A’ level teaching at the Minsthorpe Community College was recognised by the national organisation Oxford Analytics earlier this year, who described the College as having ‘the highest average student progress’ in A Level English Language in the country; an excellent accolade for the English Curriculum Team.

The individual success stories at Minsthorpe Community College continue unabated as we are witnessing an ongoing improvement in sixth form outcomes, giving our students the opportunity to continue with their education or to enter the world of work. Joint Principals, Mrs Merritt and Mr Gilmore commented, “these results are due to a massive team effort and everyone playing their part in terms of the motivation and commitment from all our students, parents and staff. We are delighted with these outcomes and proud of the students’ achievements”.

To see our headline figures please click here.