About US
Who we are:
The Members of the Trust established the multi-academy trust. They form the highest level of governance, acting as the ‘guardians’ of the Trust and having an overview of its governance arrangements.
The Board of Trustees of are the legal governors and trustees of the Trust and the directors of the company.
The Trust Senior Leadership team delivers the strategy of the Board of Trustees and provides leadership and shared support to the schools in the Trust, under the direction of the Chief Executive Officer, Nicola Davis
Teachers, support staff, trustees, governors, parents and pupils all make up the Amethyst Academies Trust, which is predicated on collaboration and sharing the very best practice across the organisation. The Shared Services, provides support, advice and challenge to staff across our schools.
Amethyst Academies Trust aim is to develop clusters of primary, special and secondary schools that benefit from mutual support, collaboration and the efficiencies and security of being part of a single, strategically aligned organisation.
The Board of Trustees only takes decisions to partner with schools where they fit with, or can be developed to fit with, the culture and ethos and where there is benefit to the Trust as a whole. The definition of ‘Trust’ is everyone in the organisation: our pupils, teachers, support staff, governors and the shared services. All our schools and shared services are part of the fabric that makes the Trust what it is, and as schools join our organisation evolves.
At the Amethyst Academies Trust, we cherish the differences between each of our schools and want all of them to continue their improvement journey. We promote local representation and accountability, believing headteachers and governing bodies are best placed to run our schools.
To achieve the Trust’s improvement and growth strategy, capacity is developed ahead of taking on schools, so the Trust is able to provide support at the earliest opportunity. This means the Trust is well placed to provide the right support to ensure rapid and sustained improvement.
We aim to provide:
- Simplicity and clarity in all we do – in particular around teaching and learning, enabling teachers to focus on supporting young peoples’ learning so that they achieve brilliant outcomes.
- More efficient and effective use of resources to ensure young people have opportunities to learn in an environment that is fit for purpose now and in the future.
- A wide range of first class destinations for young people, including further education, higher education, apprenticeships and university.
- We thrive from collaboration at every level. We encourage a culture of sharing ideas and learning from one another. As a Trust of schools we are always learning from each other.
Local community:
We recognise the power in individuals and organisations working together in collaboration to foster mutual support and progress. We promote local representation and accountability, believing headteachers and their teamare best placed to run our schools.
Inclusivity:
Our definition of our ‘Trust’ is everyone in the organisation: our pupils, teachers, support staff, governors and the shared services. The Trust is not a separate entity that rules hierarchically from the peripheries. All our schools and shared services are part of the fabric that makes the Trust what it is.
Equal opportunity:
We are inclusive and committed to equal opportunity for all. We believe there is no ceiling on what people can achieve, regardless of circumstance or background. We facilitate learning for all and enabling everyone in our organisation to fulfil their potential.
Our Vision:
- We are ambitious for our schools and their students.
We believe that there is no ceiling on what can be achieved by anyone, regardless of their circumstances or background. - We are committed to providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment, giving every young person the opportunity to fulfil their potential now, and in the future.
- We seek to realise the power of individuals and organisations working together in collaboration whilst retaining their individuality, and we recognise that we can always improve.
With an inspiring curriculum we ensure that all students make good progress year on year and regardless of their starting point they receive an excellent education.
Leaders with Vision
Our leadership team focus on providing an outstanding education for students across our schools from entry at Year 7 right through our Amethyst Sixth Form.
Aimee Huntington
Head of School
Nicola Davis
CEO
Nicola Bayliss
Headteacher of Moreton 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.