Cambrian Learning Trust

What Cambrian Learning Trust does

Cambrian Learning Trust is a UK multi-academy trust (MAT) operating as an exempt charity and company limited by guarantee, headquartered in Faringdon, Oxfordshire. Founded in 2012 and active since at least 2016-2017, the trust runs a network of 18 primary, secondary, and all-through schools across South Oxfordshire — covering Abingdon, Wantage, Faringdon, and surrounding villages — along with pre-schools and nurseries, serving approximately 7,983 students and employing 1,234 staff under CEO Richard Evans and Chair Anthony Cook.

The trust's core deliverable is state-funded primary and secondary education, delivered directly through member schools that enroll students via the standard UK school admissions process. Around the core delivery, Cambrian operates a portfolio of supplementary programmes marketed under the "Beacon of Excellence" umbrella, including the Aspiring Leaders Programme for emerging educators, the Centre for Professional Excellence staff training hub, a Pupil Parliament, Primary Character and Citizenship Awards, and an enrichment programme anchored by the annual Cambrian Sports Awards. Strategic partnerships with the Ogden Trust (science education) and Williams Engineering (STEM events) extend the curriculum beyond the classroom. The technology stack is described as standard educational platforms with accessibility features, and no proprietary AI/ML capability, app, or commercial product offering is disclosed.

Cambrian makes money exclusively through UK government education funding tied to student enrollment. The trust does not charge tuition directly to families, and pricing is not commercially negotiable; rather, per-pupil funding flows from the Department for Education and local authorities to the trust for each enrolled pupil. Revenue growth therefore tracks net student enrollment across existing and newly recruited schools. The trust actively solicits additional schools to join via a dedicated "Join the Trust" proposition on its website, positioning itself as a governance, professional development, and shared-resource partner for prospective member schools in the region.

Name

Cambrian Learning Trust

Legal name

Cambrian Learning Trust

Website

https://faringdonlearningtrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cambrian Learning Trust is a UK multi-academy trust operating 18 state-funded primary, secondary, and all-through schools plus nurseries across South Oxfordshire, serving around 7,983 students with centralised governance, professional development, and enrichment programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary and Secondary Education

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM/STEAM-Focused Private K–12 Schools (EDAJABAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Early Learning Academies (EDACADAH)

Keywords

• Multi-academy trust
• Primary education
• Secondary education
• School governance
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Faringdon, England

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: State-funded family of primary and secondary schools receiving government funding for educational services. The trust manages 18 schools receiving public funding for education delivery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cambrian Learning Trust is a multi-academy trust operating a family of 18 primary, secondary, and all-through state-funded schools across South Oxfordshire (Abingdon, Wantage, Faringdon and surrounding villages). The trust provides education from early years (nurseries and pre-schools) through to secondary level including sixth form, supported by centralized governance, shared resources, professional development programmes (Aspiring Leaders, Centre for Professional Excellence), and enrichment activities such as the annual Cambrian Sports Awards.

Product overview

Cambrian Learning Trust is an educational services organization operating as a Multi-Academy Trust with 18 schools (primary, secondary, and all-through), pre-schools, and nurseries across Oxfordshire. The Trust's main schools include primary institutions like Buckland Primary, Charlton Primary, and Wantage CE Primary, as well as secondary schools such as Faringdon Community College and King Alfred's Academy. Supporting the core educational offerings are specialised programmes including the Aspiring Leaders Programme for staff professional development, the Centre for Professional Excellence, and an Enrichment Programme featuring the annual Cambrian Sports Awards. The Trust also operates numerous early years facilities including nurseries and preschools across its school network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Centre for Professional Excellence: Professional development and training programme for educators within the trust
• Beacon of Excellence
• Aspiring Leaders Programme
• Ogden Trust Partnership

Products and services

• Cambrian Learning Trust Schools (Primary, Secondary, and All-Through)
• Pre-Schools and Nurseries

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple schools rated Good or Outstanding by OFSTED
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Williams EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2024Partnership providing Science & Engineering Events for pupils. Students experience full days of learning at Williams Engineering facilities, supporting STEM education and career inspiration. The partnership demonstrates the trust's commitment to enrichment beyond traditional classroom learning.
• Ogden TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOgden Trust Partnership supporting science education across the trust schools through the Beacon of Excellence programme.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Aspirations Academy Trust: Regional multi-academy trust operating state-funded primary and secondary schools in southern England. Closely comparable in size, regional focus and community-of-schools philosophy to Cambrian Learning Trust.
• Star Academies: Multi-academy trust running both primary and secondary state-funded schools across England. Comparable in operating a mixed primary/secondary network with enrichment focus, similar in scale to Cambrian.
• REAch2 Academy Trust: UK primary-focused multi-academy trust of broadly similar size to Cambrian with a comparable network-of-primary-schools operating model. Useful like-for-like comparison on governance, professional development, and enrichment programmes.

Regional players

• Anglian Learning: Multi-academy trust of comparable size operating schools in a different UK region (East Anglia). Useful as a regional-peer benchmark; operates the same state-funded K-12 MAT model as Cambrian in a distinct geography.
• Diocese of Oxford Education Trust: Diocesan multi-academy trust with overlapping geography in Oxfordshire covering Church of England schools — directly parallel to Cambrian's CE-affiliated schools and shared Christian ethos approach.

Others

• Ogden Trust: Educational charity that funds and supports physics education partnerships across UK schools, including an existing Beacon of Excellence partnership with Cambrian. Adjacent/ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: One of the UK's largest multi-academy trusts operating both state-funded and independent schools nationwide. Directly comparable to Cambrian's MAT model but at materially greater scale, serving as a benchmark for what a national acquisition target looks like.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: National multi-academy trust running dozens of primary and secondary academies. Comparable in operating model and enrichment-led approach, scaled across a much wider geographic footprint than Cambrian.
• Academies Enterprise Trust (AET): Large UK multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary academies across multiple regions. Directly comparable as a state-funded MAT with a centralized professional development and governance model like Cambrian's.
• Harris Federation: Major London-based multi-academy trust operating primary, secondary and all-through academies. Comparable MAT operating model with strong Ofsted outcomes, paralleling Cambrian's regional network approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cambrian_trust
• Facebookfacebook.com/CambrianLearningTrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cambriantrust
• Instagraminstagram.com/cambriantrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Cambrian Learning Trust