Chiltern Learning Trust

What Chiltern Learning Trust does

Chiltern Learning Trust (CLT) is a UK Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) — a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and charitable trust — operating a family of 18 schools (with the home page referencing 21) across Bedfordshire, Luton and Hertfordshire. Founded in 2013 from the academisation of Denbigh High School and Challney High School for Boys, the Trust spans Early Years through Sixth Form with ~10,300+ pupils on roll. CLT's core offering is centralised educational delivery: a central team provides specialist services in finance, HR, governance, school improvement, marketing, EdTech, data, SEND/safeguarding and operations to all member schools, with a Scheme of Delegation governing local autonomy.

Layered on top of this school portfolio is a vertically integrated teacher development product set. The Chiltern Training Group (CTG, founded 1993) is an Ofsted-rated Outstanding School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) provider that has trained over 1,000 teachers, operating from hubs in Luton, Bedford and Stevenage with 60+ partner schools. The Bedfordshire Schools' Training Partnership (BSTP) and Acorn Training Group (from Lark Rise Academy) extend ITT into primary and early years. The Chiltern Teaching School (CTS) and Chiltern Teaching School Hub (CTSH), the latter a Department for Education Centre for Excellence covering Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire, deliver the "Golden Thread" of teacher development: Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, Appropriate Body services, National Professional Qualifications, and CPD/leadership development. An EdTech function, led by Christian Turton (DfE AI in Education training materials project lead, recognised at a Royal Garden Party), oversees a 1:1 device programme, online safety (360safe Mark Assessor) and the Trust's digital and AI strategy.

CLT is funded primarily through central government education grants via Parliament for the academies it operates, with additional income from initial teacher training fees and DfE grant funding for the Teaching School Hub. Its customers are students and member schools rather than commercial buyers. The Trust reports to a Board of Trustees with day-to-day executive leadership from CEO Adrian Rogers (in role since July 2015) and is not listed on any stock exchange; ownership is not-for-profit with no parent company or institutional investors.

Name

Chiltern Learning Trust

Legal name

Chiltern Learning Trust

Website

https://chilternlearningtrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Chiltern Learning Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating 18 schools across Bedfordshire, Luton and Hertfordshire, supported by in-house teacher training (CTG), a DfE Teaching School Hub (CTSH) and a central team delivering finance, HR, EdTech and school improvement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multi-Academy Trust (K-12 state education)

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Student Support & Related Services (Counseling, SEL, Health, Safety) (EDAJAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Standards Alignment & Curriculum Mapping (State/National) (EDAJAFAD)

Keywords

• Multi-academy trust
• Teacher training
• School improvement
• State primary education
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Luton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices19 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Government grant funding (Parliament): Chiltern Learning Trust (CLT) is a company limited by guarantee and a charitable trust. Responsibility for the schools and the funds granted by Parliament for providing education is entrusted to the CLT Board. As the admissions authority for its academies, the Trust is funded primarily through central government education grants.
2. Annual financial reporting (Trust accounts): Trust publishes Annual Report and Financial Statements (latest 2025) via the Accounts page on the website.
3. Initial Teacher Training fees (CTG / BSTP / Acorn): Chiltern Training Group (founded 1993) and Bedfordshire Schools' Training Partnership deliver School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) PGCE courses; Acorn Training Group delivers primary ITT. Participants access funded training pathways, with bursary/service support for trainees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Chiltern Learning Trust operates a Multi-Academy Trust of 18 state schools (Early Years through Sixth Form) across Bedfordshire, Luton and Hertfordshire, delivering primary, middle and secondary education to over 10,300 pupils. The Trust also runs an in-house teacher development ecosystem: the Chiltern Training Group (an Ofsted-rated 'Outstanding' SCITT founded in 1993), the Bedfordshire Schools' Training Partnership and Acorn Training Group for ITT, and the Chiltern Teaching School Hub (a DfE Centre for Excellence delivering Initial Teacher Training, Early Career Framework, Appropriate Body, NPQs and CPD across Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire). Centralised services (finance, HR, governance, marketing, EdTech, school improvement) are provided to all member schools by a specialist central team.

Product overview

Chiltern Learning Trust is a value-driven Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) operating as a single unified educational organisation spanning multiple sub-products and services. The core offering is its MAT of 18 schools across Bedfordshire and Luton, which is operationally supported by a Central Services Team. Layered on top of this core are three principal sub-products focused on educator development: the Chiltern Training Group (CTG), an Ofsted-rated 'Outstanding' School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) provider founded in 1993 that has trained over a thousand teachers; the Chiltern Teaching School (CTS), a centre of excellence supporting Teaching School Hubs, Behaviour and Attendance Hubs, succession planning, and school-to-school support including Specialist Leaders of Education (SLEs); and the Chiltern Teaching School Hub (CTSH), a Department for Education Centre for Excellence covering Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, and Hertfordshire (East and North), delivering the 'Golden Thread' of teacher development from ITT through ECF and NPQs to CPD. Two further ITT sub-products — the Bedfordshire Schools' Training Partnership (BSTP) and the Acorn Training Group — extend the Trust's teacher training footprint across primary and secondary phases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Chiltern Training Group (CTG): Luton's most established School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) provider, founded in 1993, offering secondary and primary PGCE courses with hubs in Luton, Bedford and Stevenage and a network of over 60 partner schools.
• Chiltern Teaching School Hub (CTSH)
• Chiltern Teaching School (CTS)
• Chiltern Teaching School Alliance (CTSA)

Products and services

• Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) school portfolio A collaborative family of 18 schools across Bedfordshire, Luton (and per the home page also Hertfordshire) spanning Early Years, Primary, Middle (9-13), Secondary, Upper School (13-18) and Sixth Form phases. Schools include Ardley Hill Academy, Aspley Guise Lower School, Cedars Upper School, Challney High School for Boys, Challney High School for Girls, Chiltern Academy, Dallow Primary, Daubeney Academy, Denbigh High School, Kempston Academy, Lancot School, Lark Rise Academy, Lea Manor High School, Linslade School, Marston Vale Middle School, Putteridge High School, Springfield Primary and Wootton Primary School, with SEND/ASD provision and onsite nurseries at selected schools. The MAT delivers full-time state education to over 10,300 pupils.
• Chiltern Training Group (CTG) Luton's most established School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) provider, founded in 1993 and Ofsted-rated 'Outstanding'. Delivers secondary and primary PGCE courses with hubs in Luton, Bedford and Stevenage and a network of over 60 partner schools. Has trained over a thousand teachers since inception and offers funded training pathways with bursary/service support for trainees.
• Bedfordshire Schools' Training Partnership (BSTP) Specialises in School-Centred Initial Teacher Training for both Secondary and Primary trainee teachers in Bedford, delivered as a wholly owned subsidiary of Chiltern Learning Trust.

Quantifiable outcome

• Named MAT of the Year in 2025
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Harris Federation: One of the UK's largest Multi-Academy Trusts operating a comparable portfolio of primary and secondary schools with a strong EdTech emphasis and proven track record of converting schools to Outstanding. Closely comparable in operating model, scale and London/SE geography.
• Delta Academies Trust: Northern MAT operating a portfolio of schools with a central team providing school improvement, finance and back-office services. Comparable in structure and MAT expansion approach, though with different regional footprint.
• Greenwood Academies Trust: Regional MAT operating a portfolio of primary and secondary academies with a centralised school improvement function. Closely comparable in regional focus and mid-sized MAT scale.
• Outwood Grange Academies Trust: Large MAT with a strong school improvement methodology and centralised curriculum and data teams. Comparable in its data-driven approach to driving school outcomes and rapid academy growth strategy.
• Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT): Large national MAT with a similar model of acquiring underperforming schools and driving improvement through a central team. Closely comparable in operating model and target school profile, though with significantly more schools than CLT.

Broad incumbents

• Oasis Community Learning: National MAT with a similarly broad phase mix (primary through secondary) and a hub-and-spoke central services structure. Comparable in mission-driven, values-led operating model, though with significantly larger scale than CLT.
• United Learning: Large national MAT operating both state academies and independent schools. Comparable to CLT in running a centralised services model and structured school improvement programme, but at materially greater scale and geographic spread.
• Academies Enterprise Trust (AET): One of the largest UK MATs operating a national portfolio of primary, secondary and special schools with a centralised services model. Comparable in structure and scale ambition, though facing well-documented school improvement challenges.
• Ark (Ark Academies): National education charity running a network of academies with a strong evidence-based school improvement methodology and central curriculum/EdTech function. Comparable to CLT in its central team structure and focus on educational outcomes in disadvantaged areas.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: National MAT with a portfolio spanning primary, secondary and special schools. Comparable in operating model and inclusion of specialist provisions, though at larger scale than CLT.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChilternLT
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChilternLT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chiltern-learning-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Chiltern Learning Trust