Knowledge Schools Trust
Knowledge Schools Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating 11 primary, secondary, and sixth-form schools across West London and Bedfordshire, funded primarily through Department for Education grants and supplemented by two externally-distributed curriculum products and facility-letting income.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersHammersmith, London, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Knowledge Schools Trust does
Knowledge Schools Trust (KST) is a UK Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), incorporated in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee (company number 7493696), headquartered at Palingswick House in Hammersmith, London. It operates 11 schools spanning primary, secondary and sixth-form provision across West London and Bedfordshire, with non-selective primary and secondary admissions and selective sixth-form entry. The Trust's stated mission is delivering a rigorous, knowledge-rich education to address educational inequality.
KST's core products are its educational services and two proprietary, externally-distributed curriculum assets. The Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) is a sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum covering EYFS through Key Stage 2, embedded in all KST primary schools. Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) is a systematic synthetic phonics programme for early reading, co-developed and nationally distributed through a partnership with Oxford University Press. A secondary commercial line offers facility hire (sports halls, classrooms, outdoor space) to community organisations outside school hours via a dedicated lettings platform.
The Trust's revenue is primarily composed of recurring Department for Education grants per academy supplemented by philanthropic donations routed through the Knowledge Schools Foundation Trust and modest transactional income from space hire. Tuition at Trust schools is free at point of use. The Trust is governed by a board including original West London Free School founders, a former FE college chief executive, and a chartered accountant with public and private company board experience; the executive team is led by CEO Ian Hunter (appointed January 2017) and includes a CFO with prior PricewaterhouseCoopers experience and a COO with sixth-form college and higher-education operational backgrounds.
Knowledge Schools Trust firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Knowledge Schools Trust
- Legal name
- Knowledge Schools Trust
- Website
- https://knowledgeschoolstrust.org
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Knowledge Schools Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating 11 primary, secondary, and sixth-form schools across West London and Bedfordshire, funded primarily through Department for Education grants and supplemented by two externally-distributed curriculum products and facility-letting income.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Knowledge Schools Trust industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Primary and Secondary Education Services
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Standards Alignment & Curriculum Mapping (State/National) (EDAJAFAD)
Keywords
Where Knowledge Schools Trust is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hammersmith, London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices8 records
Markets served
Knowledge Schools Trust business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Government Education Funding: The Trust receives annual grants from the Department for Education to operate its academies. Funding agreements are in place for each school in the Trust.
- Foundation Trust Donations: The Knowledge Schools Foundation Trust raises funds for facilities, resources and activities not covered by DfE grants, including extra-curricular activities, school trips, music, theatre and sports subsidies for pupil premium eligible pupils.
- Space Hiring and Lettings: Schools are available for hire outside school hours, including sports halls, community halls, classrooms, and outdoor space. Revenue generated through lettings fees.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Knowledge Schools Trust product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Knowledge Schools Trust operates 11 state-funded primary, secondary and sixth-form schools across London and Bedfordshire delivering a knowledge-rich education. It also develops and distributes two proprietary curriculum products — Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) for primary schools and Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) phonics programme — to other schools, and rents out its school facilities outside hours.
Product overview
Knowledge Schools Trust operates a network of 11 schools across London and Bedfordshire, offering a knowledge-rich educational programme. The Trust offers two curriculum products: Essential Letters and Sounds (a synthetic phonics programme developed with Oxford University Press) and Primary Knowledge Curriculum (a knowledge-rich primary curriculum). Additionally, the Trust provides space hire services for sports halls, community halls, classrooms, and outdoor spaces at its school venues.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC): A carefully sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum for primary schools developed by the Trust
- Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS)
Products and services
- Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) A carefully sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum for primary schools covering EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, developed by subject experts and embedded in all KST primary schools. Made available to external schools through a dedicated website as a standalone curriculum product.
- Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) A systematic synthetic phonics programme for early reading, developed in conjunction with Oxford University Press. Draws on the latest research about how children learn to read and retain information in long-term memory, and is distributed to schools nationwide through the OUP partnership.
- Knowledge Schools Trust Multi-Academy Education Services State-funded primary, secondary and sixth-form education delivered across 11 schools in West London and Bedfordshire, including West London Free School, West London Free School Primary, West London Free School Sixth Form, Earl's Court Free School Primary, Kensington Primary Academy, Edlesborough Primary Academy, Dovery Academy, Bedford Road Primary Academy, Wixams Tree Primary Academy, Wixams Academy and Wixams Academy Sixth Form.
- School Space Hire (Lettings) Out-of-hours hire of sports halls, community halls, community rooms, classrooms and outdoor space at school venues in Hammersmith and Kensington, available after 6pm during term time and all day at weekends and holidays, booked through the online lettings platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- West London Free School Primary judged Outstanding by Ofsted in June 2015
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Knowledge Schools Trust
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Knowledge Schools Trust technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Knowledge Schools Trust partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Oxford University PresscoreOxford University Press partnered with Knowledge Schools Trust to develop Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS), a systematic synthetic phonics programme for early reading instruction. OUP publishes and distributes the ELS programme to schools across the UK.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Knowledge Schools Trust competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- REAch2 Academy Trust: Primary-focused multi-academy trust operating dozens of primary academies across England. Comparable in primary-heavy MAT structure and in selling curriculum approaches to external schools.
- Delta Academies Trust: Large UK multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools across multiple regions. Comparable in scale (multi-school, multi-region) and reliance on DfE funding.
- Ark (Ark Academies): Multi-academy trust operating around 39 schools across the UK with a knowledge-rich curriculum focus. Most directly comparable UK MAT peer operating primary and secondary academies under government funding with a strong central curriculum team.
- United Learning: One of the largest UK MATs, running both state and independent schools with a structured curriculum. Comparable as a multi-region MAT that develops and shares its own curriculum materials across its school network.
- Harris Federation: Large UK multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools across London and the South East. Closely comparable operating model — multi-school state-funded trust with central curriculum oversight and external-facing programmes.
- Oasis Community Learning: National multi-academy trust operating over 50 schools across England. Similar state-funded, multi-region operating model with comparable curriculum and community focus.
- Literacy Tree / Ruth Miskin Training: Provider of systematic synthetic phonics programmes and primary English curriculum widely used across UK schools. Direct competitor to Knowledge Schools Trust's ELS and PKC products in the external curriculum licensing market.
- West London Free School (historic / founding peers): The original member school from which Knowledge Schools Trust grew; a secondary free school in Hammersmith. Listed here for context as the founding entity of the Trust — comparable in admissions model and curriculum ethos.
Broad incumbents
- Oxford University Press (Education division): Strategic partner of KST for ELS distribution and a major publisher of competing phonics and primary curriculum programmes. Comparable as both partner and competing curriculum publisher in the UK primary school market.
- Ark Curriculum Plus: Commercial arm of Ark that sells knowledge-rich curricula (e.g. Mathematics Mastery, English mastery) to external schools. Direct comparable for KST's curriculum-product commercialisation strategy (PKC, ELS).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Knowledge Schools Trust social profiles
Digital presenceKnowledge Schools Trust compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Knowledge Schools Trust financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Knowledge Schools Trust leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Knowledge Schools Trust subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries11 records
Knowledge Schools Trust funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Knowledge Schools Trust M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Knowledge Schools Trust
What does Knowledge Schools Trust do?
Knowledge Schools Trust operates 11 state-funded primary, secondary and sixth-form schools across London and Bedfordshire delivering a knowledge-rich education. It also develops and distributes two proprietary curriculum products — Primary Knowledge Curriculum (PKC) for primary schools and Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) phonics programme — to other schools, and rents out its school facilities outside hours.
Is Knowledge Schools Trust a public or private company?
Knowledge Schools Trust is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Knowledge Schools Trust founded?
Knowledge Schools Trust was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Knowledge Schools Trust based?
Knowledge Schools Trust is headquartered in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Knowledge Schools Trust make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Government Education Funding is the primary driver. The others are foundation Trust Donations and space Hiring and Lettings.
Who are Knowledge Schools Trust's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are REAch2 Academy Trust, Delta Academies Trust, Ark (Ark Academies), United Learning, Harris Federation, Oasis Community Learning, Literacy Tree / Ruth Miskin Training and West London Free School (historic / founding peers). Broad incumbents are Oxford University Press (Education division) and Ark Curriculum Plus.
Does Knowledge Schools Trust have an API?
No public API is recorded for Knowledge Schools Trust.
What industry is Knowledge Schools Trust in?
Knowledge Schools Trust's product category is Primary and Secondary Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAAAE, Public K–12 Combined Schools, with a secondary code of EDAJAFAD, Standards Alignment & Curriculum Mapping (State/National). Its NAICS code is 611110 and its SIC code is 8200.