Community Schools Trust

What Community Schools Trust does

Community Schools Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust founded in 2021 that operates six state-funded secondary schools across East London (Forest Gate, Cumberland in Newham, Waterside Academy in Hackney, Haggerston School, The Excelsior Academy) and Norwich (University Technical College Norfolk). The trust serves students aged 11-18, delivering GCSE, A-level, and vocational pathways, and serves as the operational sponsor for schools seeking centralised governance and improvement support. Its foundational school, Forest Gate Community School, has held three Outstanding Ofsted ratings (most recently December 2021) and has ranked in the top 50 nationally for GCSE results for six consecutive years.

The trust's core technology and pedagogical platform is the Dynamic Progress Reporting (DPR) system, developed in partnership with Axle Education, which enables real-time student assessment, live marking by teachers, and cross-school progress monitoring. This sits alongside a tailored, knowledge-based curriculum framework and a Direct Instruction methodology emphasising pace, participation, and Checking for Understanding. CST also operates teacher training products — a School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme with London District East Teaching School Hub and Ambition Institute, plus an in-house Graduate Training Programme paying trainees £33,000, certified by the University of East London. A 'colleges programme' supports selective school applications, with documented student outcomes including full bursaries and scholarships at institutions such as Fulham School and Ashbourne College.

CST generates revenue via per-pupil government funding through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and operates as a non-profit charitable company; specific financials are not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market approach is a hybrid: pupils are admitted through standard local-authority catchment processes, teaching staff are recruited directly via a careers portal and structured training pathways, and additional schools are onboarded through a dedicated 'Join our MAT' enquiry channel. The central team of 11-50 staff supports a much larger school-level workforce under CEO Simon Elliott, with 75% of leadership positions filled through internal promotion.

Name

Community Schools Trust

Legal name

Community Schools Trust

Website

https://communityschoolstrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Schools Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating six state-funded secondary schools across East London and Norwich, delivering GCSE and A-level pathways underpinned by its Dynamic Progress Reporting assessment system and Direct Instruction pedagogy. It also runs paid teacher training programmes and serves as a sponsor for schools seeking improvement support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Career & Technical Education (CTE) Centers & Programs (EDAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Secondary education services
• Multi-academy trust
• Teacher training programs
• School improvement
• Secondary schooling

Headquarters

HQ city

London

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Community Schools Trust operates six UK state-funded secondary schools delivering full secondary education (Key Stages 3, 4 and 5) to students aged 11–18. In parallel, it runs a School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme and a CST Graduate Training Programme that pays trainees a salary of £33,000 while they qualify as teachers, plus a Colleges Programme supporting Year 6 students in selective school applications.

Product overview

Community Schools Trust operates as a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) providing educational services through six schools across London and Norfolk. The trust's core educational offering centers on Dynamic Progress Reporting (in partnership with Axle Education), supplemented by teacher training programs (SCITT and Graduate Training Programme), and a colleges programme for selective school applications. The trust's member schools include Forest Gate Community School, Cumberland Community School, Waterside Academy, University Technical College Norfolk, The Excelsior Academy, and Haggerston School.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Secondary Education across Six Academies (Haggerston, Forest Gate, Cumberland, Waterside, UTCN, Excelsior)
• SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training) School-based initial teacher training programme offered to graduates and career-changers who want to qualify as secondary teachers while working in one of the trust's academies.
• CST Graduate Training Programme Paid graduate teacher training programme in which trainees earn a salary of £33,000 while completing their initial teacher training, with a stated emphasis on growing school leaders from within the trust's own cohort.
• Colleges Programme (Selective School Application Support) Support programme for Year 6 students preparing applications to selective secondary schools, including entrance exam and interview preparation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Progress 8 score of +1, indicating students make significantly more than expected progress.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Axle EducationcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership providing the Dynamic Progress Reporting (DPR) system used across all trust schools for real-time student assessment and progress tracking. This enables live marking and immediate feedback to students.
• London District East Teaching School HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) and the Early Career Framework. Provides seminars, workshops, and QTS/PGCE qualifications for trainee teachers.
• Ambition InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in delivering teacher training and the Early Career Framework, providing professional development resources and qualifications.
• University of East LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner acting as assessor and awarding body for the CST Graduate Training Programme, providing QTS assessment and certification.
• London College of Fashion (UAL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership hosting the CST Visual Arts Exhibition 'Future Visionaries' at London College of Fashion's Stratford campus, showcasing student artwork from all six trust schools.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• United Learning: Major UK MAT running both state-funded academies and independent schools. Comparable governance structure, school-improvement programmes, and breadth of curriculum and teacher-training offerings.
• Outwood Grange Academies Trust: Large UK MAT operating dozens of secondary and primary schools. Comparable in multi-school governance, data-driven progress tracking, and rapid school turnaround methodology.
• Harris Federation: One of the largest UK Multi-Academy Trusts operating a large portfolio of primary and secondary schools, predominantly in and around London. Directly comparable in MAT structure, school-improvement focus, and concentration in London boroughs.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: UK Multi-Academy Trust operating a portfolio of secondary and primary schools. Comparable as a fellow MAT focused on school improvement, governance, and outcomes in similar English regions.
• Ark Schools: UK Multi-Academy Trust operating schools across the country with a focus on disadvantaged communities. Highly comparable operating model and mission: running groups of academies with centralised curriculum and teacher development.
• Greenwood Academies Trust: UK MAT operating academies across the East Midlands and East of England. Comparable in operating a portfolio of state-funded schools under a shared governance and curriculum framework.
• LEO Academy Trust: Smaller UK Multi-Academy Trust operating a cluster of schools in the South East. Comparable as a fellow MAT at similar scale to CST, with shared curriculum and teacher-development infrastructure.
• Academies Enterprise Trust (AET): Large UK MAT sponsoring academies and free schools across England. Directly comparable structure: central team supporting multiple schools, with shared curriculum and assessment systems.
• City of London Academies Trust: Multi-Academy Trust sponsored by the City of London Corporation, operating secondary and primary schools predominantly in and around London. Comparable London-focused MAT footprint and governance model.
• REAch2 Academy Trust: UK primary-focused Multi-Academy Trust. Comparable MAT operating model with centralised curriculum, assessment, and teacher development infrastructure across multiple schools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CST_London
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-schools-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Community Schools Trust