Emmanuel Schools Foundation Academies to join the United Learning Trust

The Boards of the United Learning Trust (ULT) and the Emmanuel Schools Foundation (ESF) have today announced that the four ESF academies are to join the ULT group of academies. 

The process of transferring the ESF academies (Emmanuel College, Gateshead, The King’s Academy, Middlesbrough, Trinity Academy, Thorne and Bede Academy, Blyth) into ULT will begin immediately. 

Sir Peter Vardy, who founded ESF, and David Vardy, his brother and chairman of ESF, will step down in due course from their responsibilities for the academies after twenty years in education. 

Education Secretary Michael Gove has paid tribute to Sir Peter Vardy and ESF’s achievements. 

He said: “I am enormously grateful to Sir Peter Vardy for the fantastic contribution that he and his organisation have made to the Academies Programme.  His work has helped to transform the life chances of thousands of children in the north of England. 

“By joining the United Learning Trust I know that Sir Peter’s academies could not be in better hands.  Sir Ewan Harper, their Chief Executive, Kathy August, Lord Carey and the rest of the team at ULT are best placed to continue the excellent work of ESF in improving the lives of many of the most disadvantaged young people in our country through delivering excellent education.” 

Sir Ewan Harper, Chief Executive of the United Learning Trust, said: “When UCST first considered entering the Academies Programme, the success of Sir Peter and David Vardy in pioneering the City Technology College initiative was very much a beacon for us.  They inspired us in the early stages of our being involved in the Academies Programme and we have been in touch ever since.  We have always had a huge admiration for what they and their academies have achieved, and have developed a relationship over the years of mutual respect and understanding.  When they approached ULT as a potential home for their four academies, we were honoured and delighted to welcome them. 

“The four ESF academies will be significant additions to our Group and will give us our first academies in the North East.  They bring an outstanding record of achievement, not just in academic terms, but in developing a work ethic, moral values and a strong sense of community cohesion.  These sit very closely with the aims of ULT as it serves each individual community.  This is a very exciting time for the Academies Programme and we look forward to sharing with our new colleagues, students and parents from ESF the opportunities that being part of a larger Group will offer in the future. 

“On a day to day basis there will be very little change; these are very successful schools and the key aim will be to complete the transition into ULT academies with no disruption.  ULT and ESF academies share a very similar ethos and an identical approach to admissions which are non-selective with places open to children of all faiths and none." 

“By joining the ULT family of academies, the ESF academies will benefit from a wide range of opportunities including excellent professional development for staff, the chance to meet and work with students from across the country and a whole host of extracurricular activities which come from being part of a larger group.  We are already working with each other on professional development and have consistently been in touch on issues concerning project management.” 

Sir Peter Vardy said: “My brother and I are in our mid-60s and after 20 years of helping to transform the educational opportunities of young people in our native North East, we feel that now is the right time to hand over the running of our academies to ULT.  It has been an absolute joy to see the effect our academies have had on their students, families and communities but we feel that now is the right time to hand over our responsibilities.  By joining ULT, our staff and students will benefit from being part of a long-established national charity with a focus on education that mirrors our own. 

“There are many other worthy causes that we will look to support in the future and we will devote our time and energy to some of these.  I believe that, in ULT, we have found the ideal guardian for the future of our schools.

“ULT’s values and aim to bring out the best in everyone is very similar to our ‘personal best’ ethos and we are certain that ULT will build on the strong foundations that we have laid in the North East so that our academies will flourish for decades to come. 

“Both ULT and we place an emphasis on building academies in areas of deprivation and raising the aspirations of the communities we serve.  As a result, both sets of academies are sending students to universities, including Oxbridge, and have developed strong ties with business and academia.”

Explaining the importance of the ESF and ULT approach to education, Sir Peter Vardy also said: “We were invited by Margaret Thatcher to get involved in education on the basis that private sector business would understand how to break the cycle of failure existing in too many inner-city schools.  We took up this challenge and founded Emmanuel College, which proved a great success in Gateshead.  We are proud that our methodology has been proven there and in our three city academies.  These have all improved in ways which have enhanced the opportunities for young people in the North East and have been a spur for others to follow up.  In 1990, Gateshead was one of the worst local education authorities in the UK.  Last year it was ranked fourth.  This is no accident as Emmanuel College has drawn others up alongside it. 

“In coming to our decision today, it has been made easier by finding the right partner for the future.  UCST has been running schools for over 125 years; good schools are in its DNA and it is using that to deliver success in its 17 academies.  The ethos of the two organisations is closely aligned.  The values which we hold so dear and which have been a key moral and spiritual focus behind the success of our schools will be welcomed by an organisation that equally appreciates them and lives by them.”