About US
Our Trust
Amethyst Academies Trust was founded in 2014 and we are proud that we have the highest of ambitions for everyone that we work with that include our children and young people, families, our workforce and external partners.
Since creating our MAT, our growth and developments have been underpinned by the resonance of our core values.
Our Vision and Values
The vision for Amethyst is that we are constantly “Investing in all of our children and young people” in order for them to be the best that they can be. This vision is what we aspire to and is as relatable to every employee and partner of our Trust as it is to our children, young adults and their families.
In order to achieve our vision, we have the following mission statement:
- The very best outcomes for learners and their families are at the heart of our core purpose
- Our staff team and partners share a collective passion and motivation to be the best they can for our learners and their families.
- Our Trust is ambitious and relentless in ensuring the highest expectations and best outcomes for all.
Our values have remained at the heart of all we do.
We have a clear and steadfast belief in lifelong learning and improving outcomes for all. To actualise this, we know our staff and partners are the best resource that we have and it is our privilege to be involved with such courageous, committed and child centred individuals. It is with and through them that we will make our vision a reality and enable everyone to thrive and be the best they can be.
At the Amethyst Academies Trust, we cherish the differences between each of our schools and partners.
School Improvement
We are in no doubt that School improvement is the core business of our Trust as it is with all outstanding Trusts. As the responsible maintaining authority for our academies, Amethyst Academies Trust has a duty to ensure that all of our schools are in a state of continual improvement. We deliver this through our belief that local leadership and governance can best determine a school’s improvement priorities, within a wider accountability framework that ensures this is being executed successfully and at the required pace.
To achieve the Trust’s improvement and growth strategy, capacity is developed ahead of schools joining our family so that the Trust is able to provide support at the earliest opportunity and is able to provide the right support to ensure rapid and sustained improvement.
Our Vision:
“Our vision for Amethyst Academies Trust is that together we enable everyone whatever their starting points to thrive and be the best they can be.”
Three to Thrive
To actualise our vision “enabling everyone to thrive and be the best they can be” we have carefully agreed our three headline strategic priorities for school improvement that we expect to see constantly tested and challenged in all our academies.
These “three to thrive” fall under the one of the Trust’s overarching strategic business objective of “Increasing the quality of provision in our education system to improve outcomes for all ”, and are as follows:
Three to Thrive
All of our academies are continually improving the quality of their educational offer
Three to Thrive
All our children and young people are responsible citizens who actively contribute to society
Three to Thrive
All of our children and young people enjoy their learning, thrive and realise their full potential
We ensure that all students thrive year on year, regardless of their starting point and that they realise their full potential.
Leaders with Vision
Our leadership team focus on providing an outstanding education for all learners across our schools from early years to post 16.
Nicola Licata
CEO
Ben Dumayne
Headteacher of Moreton School
Sarah Wilkinson
Headteacher of Penn Hall School
Mat Winzor
Headteacher of Aldersley High School
Helen Masters
Acting Headteacher of Tettenhall Wood School
our journey
Take a tour of our journey as we grow and flourish.
History
The Academy Begins
The Amethyst Academies Trust (AAT) was born out of the success of Aldersley High School, a community school of 800 students which has achieved outstanding progress for the past 2 years. We believe we have the capacity and the experience to inspire students and staff and bring about rapid and sustained improvement for the benefit of the Local Authority, and wider community.
Moreton School Sponsored
We are proud to be a part of the Amethyst Academies Trust having joined in March 2017. Our aim is to provide the very best educational experience for the children of Wolverhampton, which will enable them to become well-rounded individuals who are well prepared for future employment. To achieve this aim we will be working together as a team alongside families, local primary schools and the wider community.
Aldersley Ofsted Inspection – Good!
Aldersley High School was inspected on 7th March 2018 and the following quotes are from the Short Ofsted Report. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Leaders are passionate about the school and ambitious to improve wider standards through working with school leaders locally. Your pupils are friendly and welcoming. Pupils speak highly of the teaching, support and opportunities they receive. Pupils say that they are happy, make friends and feel safe. Every pupil spoken to by inspectors, when asked, would recommend the school to others
Introduction of the Knowledge Rich Curriculum
In September 2019 the Trust implemented the Knowledge-Rich Curriculum. The curriculum was over 12 months in planning with leaders and teaching staff from across the trust. Over the Spring Term, the Amethyst Trust moved away from using learning objectives to structure learning sequences, and instead moved to a system of Big Questions and Small Questions. Simply put, the Big Questions stretch over a sequence of lessons and are something that students should be built up to being able to answer; there is a Small Question for each lesson which helps students to have a clear frame of reference for a..Read More
Moreton Expansion Programme
Under the Secondary Schools expansion programme it was proposed that from September 2019 Moreton School would increase its Year 7 intake from 140 to 180, permanently enabling the School to cater for up to 900 students.
Amethyst Sixth Form New Build
In September 2019 the new Amethyst Sixth Form Centre was opened to our students. This was the results of a multi-million pound investment to provide a modern learning zone for up to 300 students. Our new sixth form centre has been built on the site of the old swimming pool. It contains learning zones as well as areas for sixth form students to relax and revise. The building boasts a large seating area downstairs for students to relax and work in. Food and drinks are served from the “Grab and Go” dining facilities attached to the downstairs work zone. Teaching..Read More
Duke of Edinburgh Awards
Amethyst Academies Trust is one of the largest Duke of Edinburgh Awards providers in the Country. Offering Bronze and Silver to Key Stage 4, and Gold awards at Post 16. Since 2013 there have been over 800 students who have taken the award and at present approximately 90 students per year are enrolling. The pass rate for 2019-20 was 97% which made the Trust the largest organisation offering the award in Wolverhampton and one of the biggest in the whole of the Midlands. Our DofE Manager, Mr Grimshaw was recently interviewed on the DofE website. https://www.dofe.org/notice-boards/central-england/local-news/amethyst/
Moreton Ofsted 2020 – Good!
We are proud to be a part of the Amethyst Academies Trust having joined in March 2017. Our aim is to provide the very best educational experience for the children of Wolverhampton, which will enable them to become well-rounded individuals who are well prepared for future employment. To achieve this aim we work together as a team alongside families, local primary schools and the wider community. In our school, every pupil matters. Every single one deserves the very best education so that they can take their place in the world with confidence and success. We believe that our knowledge rich..Read More
Specialist Resource Base
On September 1st 2020, Aldersley High School increased its specialist Resource Base size from 8 students to 20 students to enable support for students with Speech, Language and Communication Needs and/or Autistic Spectrum Disorder to be supported. The City of Wolverhampton Council advised that there was a gap in specialist ASD provision within the local area. We agree that it is right that children with special educational needs and disabilities be educated in their local school and community. We believed that as a calm, orderly and inclusive school we were ideally placed to provide this Specialist Resource Base and that..Read More
Aldersley Expansion Programme
Under the Secondary Schools expansion programme it was proposed that from September 2018 Aldersley High School would increase its Year 7 intake from 180 to 210, permanently enabling the School to cater for up to 1350 students. This would also increase Post 16 capacity from 150 to 300, allowing schools from across the trust to be taught at Aldersley High School.
New Head of School for Aldersley High
We are delighted that Directors have appointed Miss Huntington as Head of School from September to lead our school on a day to day basis; ‘I am excited to be working as Head of School in September and look forward to building on the amazing work that Ms Davis has done over the last 12 years. In that time, she has ensured that results have improved dramatically, increasing the life chances of our students; the reputation of the school is now excellent in both the local and wider community and we have a waiting list of students who want to..Read More
Moreton Expansion Programme
Under the Secondary Schools expansion programme it was proposed that from September 2021 Moreton School would increase its Year 7 intake from 180 to 210, permanently enabling the School to cater for up to 1050 students. The project will include a £1.5 million pound investment in buildings on the school site to accommodate the increase in students.
Mrs Bayliss Appointed Headteacher
We am delighted to announce the appointment of Nicola Bayliss as permanent headteacher of Aldersley High School. Mrs Bayliss comes to us with excellent credentials having served as a headteacher at Moreton School for the past 6 years. Mrs Bayliss has transformed Moreton School; Governors and I are looking forward to working with her during the next stage of Aldersley High Schools journey.
Moreton School Appoints New Headteacher
The Governors are delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Ben Dumayne as the new Headteacher of Moreton School. During a rigorous selection process involving staff, pupils, Governors and representatives of the Trust, Mr Dumayne stood out as an exceptional candidate to all those involved, and was the clear and unanimous choice of all members of the selection panel. Mr Dumayne is currently Head of School at Newtown High School in Powys. He will be joining us in January 2023 and during the Autumn Term Mr Mark Hignett will continue to be acting as Headteacher of the school. Mr Hignett..Read More
Penn Hall School joins the Trust
We are delighted to welcome Penn Hall Special School to the Amethyst Academies Trust. Based in the grounds of the Grade 2 listed building, Penn Hall school caters for children and young people aged 3 to 19 with a complex range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We have been actively working with Penn Hall School for the previous 12 months in a partnership that has involved staff and students visiting each others schools and working collaboratively on a number of projects, including Sedgwick College and Performing Arts days with students participating in dance, music and drama. All of the..Read More
A Warm Welcome to Tettenhall Wood Special School!
It brings us immense pleasure to announce that Tettenhall Wood Special School is now a cherished part of the Amethyst Academies Trust family. Tettenhall Wood stands out as a beacon of excellence in special education, dedicated to nurturing children and young people diagnosed with autism and complex learning needs. Our relationship with Tettenhall Wood has flourished over the past year. This partnership has been marked by reciprocal visits between our schools and a slew of collaborative ventures. One of our standout projects has been the establishment of the Horizon project. This initiative focuses on integrating students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum..Read More
Amethyst Academies Trust Celebrates Aldersley High School’s OFSTED Success
On behalf of the Amethyst Academies Trust, I am thrilled to congratulate Aldersley High School for maintaining its esteemed ‘Good’ status following the recent OFSTED inspection on 13th and 14th June 2023. This recognition is a clear reflection of the unwavering commitment, dedication, and collective efforts of every individual within the school community. During the OFSTED team’s visit to the secondary school on Barnhurst Lane, they remarked, ‘Pupils are eager to rise to the high expectations set by leaders and take immense pride in the quality of their work.’ Such observations not only make us proud as a Trust but..Read More