A New Secondary School For Oldham

The Cranmer Education Trust, founded by The Blue Coat School, is starting a consultation about opening a new secondary school in Oldham.

Headteacher and CEO of the Cranmer Education Trust, Julie Hollis said, “The Local Authority’s data shows there is a considerable shortfall in secondary places. Plans to expand existing schools will help alleviate this, however these developments can take time. As housing developments continue to bring more people to the area, the pressure on secondary places in Oldham is in danger of becoming acute. We need to plan ahead, and make sure that Oldham has another really good secondary school to offer choice to all parents and to help build up the overall quality of education across the town.

Our plan is that our new school would be able to accommodate around 270 pupils in each year, so that it can offer a broad and rich curriculum and employ full-time specialist teachers, many of whom would be trained in our nationally accredited teacher training arm, Manchester Nexus. Half of the places would be open to anyone and everyone, with no faith or religious connection; half would be offered on a faith basis, with places for children of all faiths.

Our Trust is led by people who have a strong local commitment and believes that we are well-placed to open a new school – a Blue Coat II – which will serve the whole community. We already have an outstanding secondary school with an excellent track record for educational achievement and progress, and we want to use what we have learned in Blue Coat to create another first-class school for Oldham children. The Blue Coat family is growing. We’ve established a Multi-Academy Trust, we’ve got strong governance led by local people; and we have excellent services for finance (where we have an outstanding record, with clean audits throughout), estates and ICT development, and HR. We have a recognition agreement with the unions and professional associations and we meet regularly and formally to ensure that our staff are valued and looked after as much as our students.

The Cranmer Education Trust has opened its website (www.cranmereducationtrust.com) where there are further details about our hopes and plans for the new school in west Oldham. We would be delighted to hear from parents who might be interested in our school in the future. Feedback from local people will form an important part of the process going forward.”

Media Contact:
Elizabeth Phillips-Rennie – Head of Marketing, Communication & ITE Recruitment
Email: ephillips@blue-coat.org – Tel: 0161 624 1484 (Ext 254)