Castle School Education Trust

What Castle School Education Trust does

Castle School Education Trust (CSET) is a multi-academy trust established in March 2013 by The Castle School in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England. The trust operates nine schools — five primary (Lyde Green, Charfield, Cherry Garden, Severn Beach, Tortworth) and four secondary (The Castle School, Downend, Mangotsfield, Marlwood) — educating 5,688 pupils across South Gloucestershire. CSET is constituted as a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered with Companies House and classified as an exempt charity under UK charity law, with no parent holding company. Governance runs through three layers (Members, Trustees, Community Councils) and the trust's accounting officer is CEO William Roberts, appointed September 2016 after previously serving as Headteacher of Downend School.

CSET's revenue is derived almost entirely from UK government education funding. Per the trust, revenue is allocated to each school via the formula agreed by the local authority Schools' Forum — the same formula applied to academies and maintained schools — and pooled across the trust with resources prioritised by educational need. The trust does not charge tuition fees; education is provided free at the point of use under a Master Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State for Education. Central services spanning strategic leadership, school improvement, financial management, HR, facilities, and IT are delivered by a small, experienced central team and amortised across all schools. Customers in the traditional sense are not charged — pupils are admitted through standard government school admissions policies.

The trust's strategic posture is incremental regional consolidation. CSET has expanded steadily since 2013 by sponsoring additional primary and secondary schools into the group, with two further schools (Tortworth in September 2023 and Cherry Garden in April 2024) added inside an eight-month window. Strategic partnerships include a school-centred initial teacher training programme with The Priory Learning Trust and a school improvement support offering extended to partner schools outside the trust's own footprint. CSET maintains a single web presence (cset.co.uk) and a LinkedIn channel as its primary recruitment and comms vehicle. There are no funding rounds, equity investors, M&A transactions, or commercial revenue lines disclosed in the input.

Name

Castle School Education Trust

Legal name

Castle School Education Trust

Website

https://cset.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Castle School Education Trust (CSET) operates nine primary and secondary schools educating 5,688 pupils across South Gloucestershire, England. As a multi-academy charitable trust, CSET is entirely government-funded via per-pupil formula and pools central services across its school network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: CSET receives revenue funding for each school based on the formula agreed by the local authority Schools' Forum. This formula is the same for academies and maintained schools. Revenue funding is pooled across the trust, with resources prioritised based on educational need. As a charitable trust, the trust is funded by the taxpayer to run schools for local children.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

CSET operates as a multi-academy trust running nine state-funded primary and secondary schools in South Gloucestershire that deliver full-time education to 5,688 pupils. Centralised Education and Operations teams provide school improvement, strategic leadership, finance, HR, facilities and IT services across the trust, and the trust also delivers school improvement support to partner schools in the area.

Product overview

Castle School Education Trust operates as a multi-academy trust providing education services through nine schools in South Gloucestershire. The trust manages a portfolio of five primary schools (Lyde Green Primary, Charfield Primary, Cherry Garden Primary, Severn Beach Primary, and Tortworth Primary) and four secondary schools (The Castle School, Downend School, Mangotsfield School, and Marlwood School), educating a total of 5,688 pupils. The trust also provides school improvement support to partner schools in the area. The trust's schools maintain their own unique identities and ethos while benefiting from shared expertise, provision, and costs across the group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Castle School Secondary school within CSET serving 1,427 pupils, led by Headteacher Jessica Lobbett. Founded in Thornbury; the founding school of CSET.
• Downend School Secondary school within CSET serving 1,411 pupils, led by Headteacher Rachael Corns.
• Mangotsfield School Secondary school within CSET serving 1,199 pupils, led by Headteacher Hetty Blackmore. Located at Rodway Hill, Bristol.
• Marlwood School Secondary school within CSET serving 517 pupils, led by Head of School Helen Simmons.
• Charfield Primary School Primary school within CSET serving 211 pupils, led by Headteacher Michelle Engley.
• Lyde Green Primary School Primary school within CSET serving 490 pupils, led by Headteacher Tom Hutchings.
• Severn Beach Primary School Primary school within CSET serving 148 pupils, led by Headteacher Bethan Adams.
• Tortworth Primary School Primary school within CSET serving 68 pupils.
• Cherry Garden Primary School Primary school within CSET serving 192 pupils, led by Headteacher Amy Barrett.
• Initial Teacher Training Partnership School-centred initial teacher training delivered in partnership with The Priory Learning Trust to recruit and develop new teachers for the CSET network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,688 pupils educated across nine schools
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Priory Learning TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSET works in partnership with The Priory Learning Trust to provide school-centred initial teacher training. This partnership supports the recruitment and development of new teachers for the CSET network.
• Partner Schools in South GloucestershireminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSET provides school improvement support to partner schools in the South Gloucestershire area. This extends the trust's expertise beyond its own schools to benefit the broader educational community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Priory Learning Trust: A multi-academy trust operating multiple primary and secondary schools in the West of England. Direct peer given identical operating model - pooled central services across schools - and is CSET's named ITT partner, indicating overlapping governance and staffing approach.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: A national multi-academy trust running a mixed portfolio of primary and secondary academies. Directly comparable to CSET in operating model (charity, government-funded, central-team support) and school-age mix.
• Greenshaw Learning Trust: A multi-academy trust running primary and secondary schools across southern England. Same charitable structure and central-services model as CSET, with similar scale and growth via sponsored conversions.
• Wellspring Academy Trust: A multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary academies, often including schools in challenging circumstances. Comparable operational model and school-improvement role to CSET.
• Aspirations Academies Trust: A multi-academy trust running a portfolio of primary and secondary schools with a unified educational ethos. Similar governance, funding model, and cross-phase portfolio to CSET.
• Reach Academy Trust: A smaller multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools with strong improvement-focused practice. Comparable structure and central-service ethos, though at smaller scale and London-based.
• Academy Transformation Trust: A multi-academy trust running primary and secondary academies across the Midlands and East of England. Same operating model, same sponsorship of under-performing schools, and similar pooled central services.
• Kemnal Academies Trust: A large multi-academy trust operating a portfolio of primary and secondary schools, predominantly in the South East. Same governance model, same charitable structure, and same approach to growing via sponsored conversions.

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: One of the largest multi-academy trusts in England, operating primary and secondary schools nationwide. Comparable because it runs the same pooled central-services model across a school portfolio, but at materially greater scale and geographic breadth than CSET.

Regional players

• South Gloucestershire Council (maintained schools): The local authority that previously ran, and continues to run alongside CSET, mainstream primary and secondary schools in the same South Gloucestershire geography. Alternative provider of state education to families CSET serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/castle-school-education-trust-cset

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Castle School Education Trust