A popular Barrow primary is the second school to join the newly-formed South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

Vickerstown Primary School governors voted unanimously to convert to an academy and join the SCMAT, which is led by Furness College.

The MAT Trustees have met and resolved in principle to accept the 170-pupil school on Walney into the SCMAT and Cumbria County Council has been informed.

There will now be meetings with the Department for Education and informal discussions with stakeholders prior to starting the formal consultation and application process.

Vickerstown School Headteacher David Holmes said the Trust’s vision fits well with his school’s ethos of giving pupils the best academic start in life and grounding to become successful members of society.

“We have carefully considered the direction of our wonderful school and believe this will be greatly enhanced by working in partnership with the SCMAT and the support it will bring across all aspects of Vickerstown life,” he said.

“We were impressed with the professionalism of the staff, how they listened and responded to our questions and reassured us that, above all, they valued and wanted to retain the individuality of Vickerstown School.”

“I know we will also benefit from the enhanced expertise that being part of a bigger organisation will bring.

“I am also looking forward to working with the Trust’s primary school consultant, Caroline Vernon, again. She did a fantastic job as Head Teacher of Victoria Academy and I know she will bring a wealth of expertise to Vickerstown School.”

Vickerstown will join Chetwynde School, which was the founding member of the SCMAT when it launched in September 2021.

Chair of Governors at Vickerstown School Helen Smith said joining the Trust at an early stage would ensure the school had a clearly heard voice.

“We will have support for the day-to-day running of the school, expertise in areas including HR, the chance for our staff to upskill and access to world-class facilities at the Channelside campus and specialist sixth form at Rating Lane. All of this will be of benefit to pupils as they enjoy a well-run school with a high quality of education,” she said.

SCMAT Executive Head Teacher and CEO and Professor Andrew Wren said he was delighted to accept Vickerstown to the SCMAT.

“Vickerstown is a wonderful school, rated Good by Ofsted, with a headteacher who is wholeheartedly committed to the education and wellbeing of his pupils.

“During numerous visits we have seen strong leadership from the Headteacher who inspires his pupils and his team, and is looking for ways to enhance the school’s quality of education still further. The governors are passionate about offering excellent educational opportunities to the young people of Barrow and they have clearly demonstrated this throughout the process of academisation to date.”

“This is great news and testament to the work we have all put in to raise awareness of SCMAT and promote our sound ethos and values, and our commitment to education in Barrow.

There will now be a formal application process and consultation with staff, parents and the wider community.

For more information about the Trust email info@furness.ac.uk.

A new primary school sports competition backed by the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust moves to the next stage this week with a netball tournament.

Pupils from Years 5 and 6 are invited to take part in the Primary MegaMAT Games first indoor netball event, which will be held at Chetwynde School and Barrow Sixth Form College.

The event, starting on January 20^th and running for three consecutive weeks, follows the success of the cross country competition in November which saw nearly 150 runners compete.

Organiser Katy Costa, who is the Head of Key Stage 2 at Chetwynde, said points will be accumulated for each of the events coming up with a winner declared in the summer.

“We were absolutely delighted with the turnout for the first of our Primary MegaMAT Games event with 13 schools taking part and the feedback from teachers about how much the children had enjoyed getting out onto our sports fields and competing was fantastic.

“We are committed to encouraging a healthy lifestyle through sport and wellbeing and you could see just how much the pupils loved getting involved and racing against each other.”

The Primary MegaMAT Games is a full calendar of multi-sports competitions including hockey, netball, swimming and a host of other sports. It is organised by Chetwynde, which joined the Furness College-led SCMAT in September last year.

Schools signed up for the netball tournament so far include Lindal and Marton, Chetwynde, Dane Ghyll, St Mary’s Ulverston, Holy Family, Yarlside, Parkside, St Columba’s, Newbarns, Our Lady’s Dalton, Ireleth St Peters and St Pius. 

Winners will be presented with their prizes by Chetwynde Headteacher Steve Jefferson and representatives of the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

Executive Head Teacher and CEO of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust Professor Andrew Wren said: “It is great to see so many pupils getting involved in the MegaMAT games and building skills including confidence, leadership and teamwork through sport.

“As a multi-academy trust, we support pupils’ ambitions to be the best they can and we’re pleased to back this event that celebrates their success and achievement.”