Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust

What Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust does

Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust is a multi-academy trust (MAT) and charitable limited company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 08440868), operating 15 Catholic primary and secondary schools across four Greater Manchester local authorities: Manchester, Stockport, Trafford, and Tameside. Founded in April 2013 as the Wythenshawe Catholic Academy Trust and renamed in 2023, the Trust operates under the patronage of the Diocese of Shrewsbury and serves over 3,000 pupils.

The Trust's core offering is a federation model that combines faith-based Catholic education (primary through secondary, including Saint Paul's Catholic High School and All Saints Catholic College) with a centralised Trust Central Team delivering back-office functions in HR, finance, IT, safeguarding, and school improvement. The technology stack is intentionally lightweight: SIMS Finance Accounting for financial controls (delivering monthly Management Accounts within 10 days of month-end), Lloyds Commercial Banking for treasury, a SharePoint-based CCCAT Hub for staff collaboration, and a centralised IT helpdesk with dedicated engineering staff. The Trust also commercialises its system-leadership expertise through a fee-based School-to-School Support service, offering consultants at standardised day rates (£275–£650) to non-member schools.

The business model is a hybrid of government-funded recurring revenue and incremental commercial income. Member schools pay approximately 3% of their General Annual Grant (GAG) income as a central services top-slice, a rate positioned below typical local-authority retained amounts for maintained schools. Centralised procurement has generated over £250,000 in cashable savings over a five-year period. Once pupil numbers exceed 3,000, the Trust automatically qualifies for School Condition Allocation funding for building maintenance. A lean central team of 19 supports the 15-school federation, with member schools retaining significant autonomy under the scheme of delegation.

Name

Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust

Legal name

Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust

Website

https://corpuschristitrust.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust is a Greater Manchester multi-academy trust operating 15 Catholic primary and secondary schools across four local authorities under a centralised back-office model funded by a ~3% GAG top-slice and fee-based school-to-school support services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multi-Academy Trust Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Education Authorities & Municipal Education Offices (EDADABAD)

Keywords

• Catholic education services
• Multi-academy trust
• School support services
• Centralised school operations
• School improvement consultancy

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Academy Funding (GAG Income): Government funding for academies through the General Annual Grant (GAG). Schools pay approximately 3% of GAG income as 'top slice' to fund the Trust Central Team, which is typically less than local authority retained amounts for maintained schools.
2. School Condition Allocation: Automatic funding for building maintenance received by the Trust once pupil numbers exceed 3000, replacing individual school applications for LCVAP or CIF funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust operates a federation of 15 Catholic primary and secondary schools across Manchester, Stockport, Trafford, and Tameside under the Diocese of Shrewsbury. It delivers centralised back-office services (HR, finance, IT, safeguarding, standards leadership) to member schools, and sells fee-based School-to-School Support consultancy to schools both inside and outside the Trust at standardised day rates by role.

Product overview

Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust operates as a multi-academy trust providing Catholic education across a federation of schools. The organization offers a unified educational platform consisting of primary and secondary Catholic schools supported by centralized Trust Central Team services. These services include HR, finance, IT, safeguarding, and school improvement support, enabling member schools to focus on educational delivery. The Trust also offers fee-based School-to-School Support services to external schools, providing access to system leadership expertise across areas including SEND, HR, IT, Finance, and subject leadership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Catholic Education Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £250,000 in cashable savings achieved over a five-year period through centralised procurement
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 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

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• St Joseph's Catholic Multi Academy Trust: Catholic multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools with similar Diocesan affiliation, central team support model, and revenue structure based on GAG top-slice contributions.
• Severn Academies Education Trust: Multi-academy trust operating Catholic and secular schools with comparable centralised back-office model, top-slice funding approach, and School-to-School Support service offering.
• St John Bosco Academy Trust: Another Catholic multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools in the North West of England, directly comparable in mission (Catholic education), governance structure (Diocesan-affiliated MAT), and service model (centralised back-office support).
• Emmaus Catholic Multi Academy Trust: Catholic multi-academy trust operating across primary and secondary schools with comparable centralised HR, Finance, and IT services model under diocesan patronage.
• Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust: Catholic primary and secondary multi-academy trust in the North West with comparable school federation model, Diocesan patronage, and shared central services offering to member academies.
• St Bede's Catholic Multi Academy Trust: Catholic MAT operating schools in the North West with similar diocesan affiliation and centralised support structure, making it a direct comparable on school federation scale, top-slice funding, and School-to-School Support services.

Regional players

• Bright Futures Educational Trust: Greater Manchester-based multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools with comparable centralised services model and School-to-School Support offering, providing a regional comparison point.
• The Diocese of Shrewsbury Schools (multi-academy trust network): Other multi-academy trusts operating under the same Diocese of Shrewsbury patronage that CCCAT belongs to, sharing the Catholic education mission and competing for academy conversions within the same Diocesan footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Tauheedul Education Trust: Larger multi-academy trust with faith-based origins operating across the North West, providing a comparable on scale, governance, and centralised back-office support model albeit with broader faith identity.

Others

• One Education: Education services provider offering school support, IT services, and School-to-School Support across Greater Manchester, comparable as an adjacent service provider rather than a direct MAT competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-corpus-christi-catholic-academy-trust

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust