What CORE Education Trust does

CORE Education Trust is a state-funded multi-academy trust (company limited by guarantee, Company Number 07949154) founded in Birmingham, England, around 2014–2015. It sponsors four secondary schools — Arena Academy (Great Barr), City Academy (Ladywood), Jewellery Quarter Academy, and Rockwood Academy — serving students aged 11–18 from Birmingham's diverse, multicultural communities. The trust is funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and does not charge tuition, with statutory accounts referenced on its governance page but specific revenue figures not publicly disclosed. The trust employs approximately 90 staff at a central Birmingham head office (23 Langley Walk, Ladywood, B15 2EF) plus academy-level personnel.

The trust's product surface is anchored on the four academies and enriched by a portfolio of specialised programmes and partnerships. CORE Hello provides specialist EAL (English as an Additional Language) provision, including centralised new-to-English support at City Academy informed by the Bell Foundation's Five Principles. Enrichment programmes include CORE Mathletes (a trust-wide maths competition), COREus (a vocal group developed with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and delivered via Black Voices), Echo Eternal (a commemorative arts and civic engagement project inspired by Holocaust survivor testimony, performed at Buckingham Palace in January 2025), Combined Cadet Force contingents with the Ministry of Defence, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Goldman Sachs REAL DEAL business mentoring, Birmingham Hippodrome Education Network, and the LTA #RaiseMyGame tennis initiative launched January 2024. The CORE & Co Foundation, established in 2020 as a registered charity (No. 1189760), supports these initiatives through fundraising and partnership development.

Technology infrastructure is intentionally lightweight: Microsoft Office 365 for staff operations, Koko Analytics for website analytics, Governor Hub for governance management, and The Key for School Governors as a governance resource. No proprietary technology platform, AI/ML systems, APIs, SDKs, or patented technology is disclosed. The trust differentiates instead through brand reputation, leadership profile (CEO Adrian Packer CBE), a centralised Trust Lead Practitioner network across Maths, Science, English, Geography and EAL, and a deep ecosystem of institutional partnerships. Awards include the Pearson Teaching Awards Gold (2020), Points of Light Award (2019), Chartered College of Teaching Institutional Membership (2023), and Living Wage Employer accreditation (2025).

Name

CORE Education Trust

Legal name

CORE Education Trust

Website

https://core-education.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CORE Education Trust is a Birmingham-based, state-funded multi-academy trust founded circa 2015 that sponsors four secondary schools (Arena, City, Jewellery Quarter, Rockwood Academies) and delivers enrichment programmes including specialist EAL provision (CORE Hello), Echo Eternal Holocaust education, and partnership-led initiatives with the Ministry of Defence, Goldman Sachs, and the LTA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education (Multi-Academy Trust)

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter Special Education & Inclusive Programs (EDAJACAF)

Keywords

• Secondary education
• Multi-academy trust
• Character education
• EAL provision
• Enrichment programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CORE Education Trust operates four state-funded secondary schools in Birmingham (Arena Academy, City Academy, Jewellery Quarter Academy, and Rockwood Academy), delivering a full academic curriculum for students aged 11-18 alongside a portfolio of enrichment and partnership programmes. Core programmes include CORE Hello (specialist EAL provision), Echo Eternal (Holocaust and genocide remembrance arts project), COREus (trust-wide vocal group), CORE Mathletes (maths competition), Combined Cadet Force (CCF), Duke of Edinburgh Award, Goldman Sachs REAL DEAL business mentoring, and LTA #RaiseMyGame tennis — all delivered under the trust's CORE values of Collaboration, Opportunity, Respect and Excellence.

Product overview

CORE Education Trust is a multi-academy trust operating four secondary schools in Birmingham: Arena Academy, City Academy, Jewellery Quarter Academy, and Rockwood Academy. The trust offers a portfolio of educational programmes and enrichment initiatives including CORE Hello (specialist EAL provision), CORE Mathletes (maths competition), COREus (vocal group), Echo Eternal (Holocaust memorial arts project), Combined Cadet Force, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Goldman Sachs REAL DEAL business programme, Hippodrome Education Network partnership, and LTA #RaiseMyGame tennis programme. The CORE & Co Foundation is the charitable arm supporting these initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CORE & Co Foundation: A registered charity established by CORE Education Trust in 2020 to develop creative partnership programmes for children and young people, focusing on vulnerable, at risk or under-served communities
• CORE Hello
• Echo Eternal
• COREus
• CORE Mathletes
• CORE Hello (EAL)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, notable and minor.

• Ministry of Defence (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCORE works in partnership with the Ministry of Defence to deliver the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) programme across its schools. The CCF includes Royal Army and Royal Air Force contingents, with training delivered by school-based Contingent Commanders and Ministry-provided Staff Instructors. The programme develops leadership, self-discipline, and responsibility through activities including residential camps, flying, first aid, and parade.
• Goldman SachsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoldman Sachs professional mentors work with teams of Year 10 students through the REAL DEAL business programme. Mentors support students to develop business ideas and create final pitches for a competition. The programme promotes career pathways and develops social, emotional and professional skills.
• Birmingham Hippodrome Education NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCORE subscribes to the Hippodrome Education Network (HEN) Gold package, enabling each academy to access creative activities including theatre performances, after-school drama clubs, youth leadership programmes, and work experience. The partnership delivers weekly creative engagement across all four CORE schools.
• LTA / Sport for Life InternationalnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Lawn Tennis Association partnership, managed with Sport for Life International and the CORE & Co. Foundation, provides access to tennis for communities that traditionally do not engage with the sport. In January 2024, the #RaiseMyGame programme was launched to support 80 female students of colour to develop tennis skills.
• Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (Birmingham City University)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe COREus vocal group was originally conceived in partnership with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University. Professional voice coaches and conductors teach students from Years 8-10 a range of singing and performance techniques. Delivery has continued via Black Voices.
• Black VoicesnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack Voices delivers the COREus vocal group programme, providing professional voice coaching and conducting for students from Years 8-10 across all four CORE academies.
• Football Beyond BordersnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball Beyond Borders partners with CORE to deliver a programme that builds students' self-confidence and promotes positive social change through football, according to Arena Academy Headteacher Raj Mann.
• Duke of Edinburgh AwardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Duke of Edinburgh Award is offered at Bronze and Silver levels at Key Stage 3 and 4 across all CORE academies, providing young people with exciting and character-building opportunities.
• UK Holocaust Memorial FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcho Eternal was originally inspired by British Holocaust survivors' testimonies recorded by Natasha Kaplinsky OBE on behalf of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation in 2015 and 2016. UK HMF is a partner in the Echo Eternal project.
• UCL Centre for Holocaust EducationnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCL Centre for Holocaust Education provides educational resources for schools participating in Echo Eternal. Schools are encouraged to apply to become UCL Beacon Schools.
• Holocaust Educational TrustnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerHolocaust Educational Trust provides education resources for Echo Eternal participant schools as a recognised partner.
• Aegis TrustnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Aegis Trust provides guidance and information on genocide survivor testimony for Echo Eternal participant schools.
• Ishami FoundationnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Ishami Foundation provides guidance on genocide survivor testimony, complementing the Holocaust education focus of Echo Eternal.
• National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYMT company members performed alongside CORE students at the Echo Eternal performance for His Majesty the King at Buckingham Palace in January 2025, as part of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• Royal Ballet SchoolnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcho Eternal's annual live performance is held at the Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden as part of national Holocaust Memorial Day events.
• Titan PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCORE Education Trust is a member of the Titan Partnership, a network supporting education and skills development in the region.
• Living Wage FoundationnotableOthersCORE Education Trust is accredited as a Living Wage Employer by the Living Wage Foundation, meaning fair wages paid to all employees, above the statutory minimum.
• CORE & Co FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CORE & Co Foundation (Charity No. 1189760) was established by CORE Education Trust in 2020 to develop creative partnership programmes for children and young people, with a focus on vulnerable, at-risk, or underserved communities. It supports projects including Echo Eternal and #RaiseMyGame.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Oasis Community Learning: Large UK multi-academy trust operating more than 50 academies nationally with an explicit community-hub and holistic-enrichment model. Its emphasis on partnerships, character development, and wraparound services closely mirrors CORE's enrichment-led approach, and it serves comparable urban, high-deprivation communities.
• Star Academies: One of the UK's largest multi-academy trusts, headquartered in the West Midlands and operating more than 30 primary and secondary schools across Birmingham, Lancashire, and West Yorkshire. It is the most geographically overlapping MAT peer to CORE, sharing a Birmingham-and-diverse-communities focus, values-driven ethos, and similar multi-academy trust sponsorship model.
• Greenwood Academies Trust: Midlands-based multi-academy trust with a portfolio of primary and secondary schools across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and surrounding regions. It is a directly comparable regional MAT peer operating state-funded academies with a similar improvement-and-sponsorship mandate.
• Future Academies: UK multi-academy trust operating secondary schools with a strong enrichment, character-education, and partner-engagement ethos. Future Academies' emphasis on broader student development beyond exam outcomes mirrors CORE's enrichment-driven model.
• Dixons Academies Trust: UK multi-academy trust running primary and secondary schools across the North of England with a strong academic-results focus. Dixons shares CORE's values-driven branding approach and operates a comparable central improvement-and-leadership model.
• Academies Enterprise Trust (AET): One of the largest UK multi-academy trusts, sponsoring more than 50 primary and secondary schools across England. AET shares CORE's sponsor-and-improve operating model at substantially larger scale, providing a useful comparison point for central-team efficiency and geographic diversification.
• Reach Academy Trust: Smaller UK multi-academy trust operating all-through academies with an explicit character-education and values-led ethos similar to CORE's Collaboration, Opportunity, Respect, Excellence framework. Reach is a comparable peer at the small-MAT end of the sector.
• ARK Schools: Established UK multi-academy trust operating around 38 primary and secondary schools, focused on academic outcomes and pupil premium cohorts. ARK operates a similar sponsor-and-improve model with central school-improvement teams, comparable in governance and scale ambition to CORE.
• Washwood Heath Academy Trust: Birmingham-based multi-academy trust sponsoring secondary and primary schools in the same city as CORE. Direct geographic and demographic overlap makes it the closest local peer for benchmarking admissions, EAL demand, and Birmingham-specific policy exposure.

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: Large UK multi-academy trust spanning both state-funded academies and independent schools, with significant national scale and breadth. Operates an overlapping model but at materially larger scale and with a broader portfolio than CORE's secondary-only Birmingham focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/coreeducate
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/COREEducationTrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/core-education-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/coreeducate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles32 records

Subsidiaries5 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 CORE Education Trust