Ascend Learning Trust

What Ascend Learning Trust does

Ascend Learning Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) registered as a charitable private company in England and Wales (Company number 07569743), operating a family of seven state-funded academies across Wiltshire and Swindon in South West England. Its portfolio spans primary and secondary phases, including Royal Wootton Bassett Academy (the 2011 founding school, now serving 1,729+ students aged 11-19), Kingsbury Green Academy, Lawn Manor Academy, Noremarsh Junior School, The Wellington Academy, and the Wellington Eagles and Wellington Lions Primary Academies (the latter two serving military families in Tidworth and Ludgershall). The trust is governed by four Members and ten Trustees led by Chair Nicholas Adams-Nel, with Jane Coley as CEO since February 2023.

The trust operates on a hybrid revenue model. The dominant revenue stream is per-pupil government funding for state-funded academies; a secondary stream is tuition fees from the Ascend SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training) programme delivered in partnership with Teach First, priced at £9,790 for UK citizens and £15,000 for international students and awarding QTS and PGCE qualifications. A wholly-owned trading subsidiary, Enterprise Ltd, provides facilities management, catering and cleaning services internally. The trust's central 'Core Offer' bundles back-office functions (HR, SEND, finance, estates, IT, data, communications, governance) for the seven schools under an 'autonomy with alignment' operating model.

Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer for student admissions (via local authority catchment areas) and event-driven for teacher recruitment (via the DfE Apply portal and Teach First). No acquisitions, funding rounds, AI/ML capabilities, or proprietary technology products are disclosed; the trust's competitive positioning rests on its values-driven ethos, central support infrastructure, codified curriculum framework, and Ofsted ratings (including Good at Kingsbury Green Academy).

Name

Ascend Learning Trust

Legal name

Ascend Learning Trust

Website

https://ascendlearningtrust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Ascend Learning Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating seven state-funded primary and secondary academies across Wiltshire, delivering education, initial teacher training via its SCITT programme in partnership with Teach First, and centralised back-office services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Royal Wootton Bassett

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: Core revenue from government funding for state-funded schools within the Multi-Academy Trust structure. Funding provided per pupil across primary and secondary academies.
2. Teacher Training Programme Fees: SCITT programme generates revenue through tuition fees: £9,790 for UK citizens, £15,000 for international students. Programme offers QTS and PGCE qualifications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ascend Learning Trust is a charitable Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) that operates a family of seven state-funded schools in Wiltshire, UK, spanning primary, secondary, and sixth-form education. The Trust also delivers a School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme in partnership with Teach First, leading to QTS and PGCE qualifications, and operates Enterprise Ltd as a wholly-owned trading subsidiary providing facilities management, catering, and cleaning services to its schools.

Product overview

Ascend Learning Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust operating as a unified educational organization comprising seven academies: Kingsbury Green Academy, Lawn Manor Academy, Noremarsh Junior School, Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, The Wellington Academy, Wellington Eagles Primary Academy, and Wellington Lions Primary Academy. The trust provides central support through its Core Offer to Schools (covering HR, SEND, teaching and learning, finance, estates, IT, and governance), operates Ascend SCITT for teacher training, and runs Enterprise Ltd as a facilities management subsidiary. The schools range from primary to secondary and sixth form, serving communities across Wiltshire.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ascend Learning Trust Schools (Multi-Academy Trust) State-funded primary, secondary and sixth-form education delivered across seven academies in Wiltshire, UK, serving children aged 4-18 (and nursery from age 2).
• Ascend SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training) One-year school-based initial teacher training programme delivered in partnership with Teach First, leading to QTS and PGCE qualifications; tuition fees of £9,790 for UK citizens and £15,000 for international students.
• Enterprise Ltd Facilities Services Wholly-owned trading subsidiary of Ascend Learning Trust providing facilities management, catering services, and cleaning to support Trust schools.
• Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Secondary school (11-19) with over 1,729 students, one of the largest in Wiltshire and the founding school of the Trust.
• Lawn Manor Academy All-ability secondary academy for 11-16 year-olds in the Old Walcot area of Swindon; joined Ascend Learning Trust in 2017.
• Kingsbury Green Academy Secondary school (11-18) opened in September 2019 with motto 'Achieving Excellence Together'; rated Good by Ofsted.
• Noremarsh Junior School Two-form entry junior school (Year 3-6) in Royal Wootton Bassett; joined the Trust on 1 October 2018.
• The Wellington Academy Secondary school (11-18) serving Ludgershall and Tidworth areas, including military families.
• Wellington Eagles Primary Academy One-form entry primary school with nursery (2-4 year olds) in Ludgershall; opened in 2019 and joined the Trust in April 2020; serves military families.
• Wellington Lions Primary Academy Primary school with nursery (2-4 year olds) in Tidworth; opened in 2014 and joined Ascend in April 2020; serves military families.

Quantifiable outcome

• Schools rated Good by Ofsted including Kingsbury Green Academy
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Teach FirstcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Teach First, the UK's largest and Ofsted-rated 'Outstanding' provider, to deliver school-centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme. Teach First provides the expertly designed curriculum for the one-year programme leading to QTS and PGCE.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Greenshaw Learning Trust: A UK Multi-Academy Trust that grew rapidly through academy conversion using a similar 'autonomy with alignment' model. Operates a comparable mix of primary and secondary schools and provides central support services in the same way as Ascend, making it one of the closest operational analogues.
• STEP Academy Trust: A regional UK Multi-Academy Trust operating a portfolio of primary and secondary schools with shared central services. Comparable to Ascend in scale (single-digit to low-double-digit school count) and in operating a federated model with shared back-office functions.
• Reach Academy Trust: A UK Multi-Academy Trust operating primary and secondary provision with a values-driven ethos similar to Ascend's 'Together we Belong, Believe, Become'. Comparable in mission orientation and in delivering central teaching/learning support across member schools.
• Blue Kite Academy Trust: A UK Multi-Academy Trust operating a comparable number of primary and secondary schools with a federated governance structure. Directly comparable to Ascend in size, school-mix, and the central-support-plus-local-autonomy operating model.
• Priory Academy Trust: A regional Multi-Academy Trust in the South West of England operating primary and secondary schools. Comparable to Ascend on geographic footprint, school-age mix, and the role of central support services in driving school improvement.

Broad incumbents

• Oasis Community Learning: One of the largest UK Multi-Academy Trusts, operating 50+ academies nationally with central hubs and values-driven ethos. Ascend's Director of Learning previously held leadership roles at Oasis, indicating direct familiarity; comparable as a broader incumbent operating in the same MAT category.
• United Learning: A very large national UK Multi-Academy Trust operating both state-funded and independent schools across primary and secondary phases. Comparable in operating model (central services + school-level autonomy), though materially larger in scale, representing the 'broad incumbent' benchmark against which smaller MATs like Ascend are positioned.

Regional players

• Diocese of Salisbury Academies Trust: A diocesan Multi-Academy Trust operating primary and secondary schools across Wiltshire and surrounding counties — directly overlapping Ascend's geographic catchment. Comparable as a same-region peer competing for the same schools considering MAT conversion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AscendLT
• Facebookfacebook.com/Ascend-Learning-Trust-108394855145194
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ascend-learning-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/ascend_learningtrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries8 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 Ascend Learning Trust