The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company

What The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company does

The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company is a company limited by guarantee and exempt charity that operates a portfolio of 12 Catholic schools across Oxfordshire, England, headquartered in Banbury. The trust serves families seeking Catholic education from primary through secondary age, with a named school roster including Blessed George Napier, Holy Trinity, Greyfriars, St John Fisher, St Joseph's (Banbury/Carterton/Thame), St Mary's, St Thomas More, and several parish primaries. Governance is delivered jointly with the Birmingham Diocese Education Service (BDES), which provides religious education standards, school improvement support, and canonical oversight under the Archdiocese of Birmingham's authority.

The operating model is a centralised corporate shell wrapping previously standalone schools: a 12-person central support team, led by Chief Executive Officer Mr Fraser Long, provides shared services (finance, HR, estates, compliance) while each school retains its own headteacher and local character. Revenue is derived almost exclusively from Department for Education per-pupil funding under academy funding agreements, supplemented by standard capital grants (including sustainability / heat decarbonisation funding streams). The trust does not operate any commercial product line, charge tuition fees, or generate third-party revenue; all activity is non-profit, mission-driven, and tied to the Catholic educational mission.

The trust's strategic posture is consolidation-oriented rather than expansion-driven: the emphasis is on standardising quality across existing schools, managing estates efficiently, and maintaining alignment with both DfE regulatory expectations and diocesan religious formation requirements. There is no disclosed M&A activity, no technology platform, no proprietary curriculum product, and no commercial offering beyond the schools themselves. For investors, the entity is structurally a public-sector funded operating business with no equity, no exit pathway, and no capital markets relevance — its governance, funding, and strategic decisions are driven by diocesan, regulatory, and community stakeholders rather than financial returns.

Name

The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company

Legal name

The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company

Website

https://popefrancisacademy.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company is a non-profit company limited by guarantee operating 12 Catholic primary and secondary schools across Oxfordshire, England, serving families under DfE academy funding agreements with governance support from the Birmingham Diocese Education Service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary and Secondary Education (Faith-based)

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Charter School Networks (Multi-Site) (EDAJACAC)

Keywords

• Catholic education services
• Primary school education
• Secondary school education
• Multi academy trust
• Faith-based schooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Banbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Education Services: As a Multi Academy Company, the organization receives government funding for educational services provided to students across its network of Catholic schools. Revenue is derived from the Department for Education via academy funding agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company operates a network of 12 Catholic schools across Oxfordshire, providing primary and secondary education under a Catholic faith-based ethos. The organization delivers state-funded educational services to students through member schools located in Banbury, Oxford, Witney, Chipping Norton, Carterton, Thame, Kidlington, and Bicester, supported by a Central Support Team offering governance, safeguarding, and operational assistance.

Product overview

The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company is a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) managing 13 Catholic schools across Oxfordshire—comprising 4 secondary schools and 9 primary schools. The organization provides a unified educational platform with shared governance, centralized support services, and collective mission to deliver excellence in Catholic education. The network includes schools in Banbury, Oxford, Chipping Norton, Witney, Carterton, Thame, Kidlington, and Bicester, all operating under the Catholic faith-based ethos promoted by the Birmingham Diocese Education Service. The Central Support Team provides operational, governance, and safeguarding support to member schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blessed George Napier School (BGN), Banbury A Catholic secondary school located in Banbury, part of the Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company's network providing faith-based secondary education in Oxfordshire.
• Holy Trinity Catholic School, Chipping Norton A Catholic secondary school located in Chipping Norton, operated within the PFMAC network of faith-based schools.
• Greyfriars Catholic School, Oxford A Catholic secondary school located in Oxford, part of the PFMAC school network providing faith-based secondary education.
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Witney A Catholic primary school located in Witney, part of the PFMAC educational network providing faith-based primary education.
• Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Oxford A Catholic primary school located in Oxford, operated within the PFMAC network of faith-based primary schools.
• St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, Oxford A Catholic primary school located in Oxford, part of the PFMAC educational network providing faith-based primary education.
• St John's Catholic Primary School, Banbury A Catholic primary school located in Banbury, operated within the PFMAC network of faith-based primary schools.
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Banbury A Catholic primary school located in Banbury, part of the PFMAC school network providing faith-based primary education.
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Carterton A Catholic primary school located in Carterton, operated within the PFMAC network of faith-based primary schools.
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Thame A Catholic primary school located in Thame, part of the PFMAC educational network providing faith-based primary education.
• St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Kidlington A Catholic primary school located in Kidlington, operated within the PFMAC network of faith-based primary schools.
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Bicester A Catholic primary school located in Bicester, part of the PFMAC school network providing faith-based primary education.
• Central Support Team Centralized support services for PFMAC member schools, including leadership, governance, safeguarding, and operational assistance delivered through the central administrative function.

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Birmingham Diocese Education ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Birmingham Diocese Education Service (BDES) provides strategic support and oversight for Catholic education within the diocese. The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company operates as part of this diocesan network, with BDES linking to the organization's website from bdes.org.uk.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Others

• Catholic Education Service (CES): National education policy and representative body for Catholic education in England and Wales; an umbrella/ecosystem organization setting the framework within which MACs like PFMAC operate.
• Birmingham Diocese Education Service: Diocesan education authority that provides strategic oversight and support to Catholic schools in the Birmingham Diocese region, including PFMAC; an ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Oasis Community Learning: Large multi-academy trust operating dozens of primary and secondary academies across England, sharing the central-support multi-site operating model but with a values-driven rather than faith-based mission.
• E-ACT: One of the largest academy trusts in England operating a large multi-site network of primary and secondary academies; comparable in operating model (central support team, multi-site academy network) but non-faith-based and at significantly larger scale.
• United Learning: Large UK multi-academy trust running state-funded and independent schools nationwide, including faith-affiliated schools; comparable in centralized governance and multi-site scale but broader in scope and non-Catholic.

Direct peers

• All Saints Catholic Collegiate: Multi-academy trust of Catholic schools in the East Midlands delivering primary and secondary Catholic education, sharing the faith-based multi-site academy trust model that PFMAC operates.
• St Edmund's Academy Trust: UK Catholic multi-academy trust operating a network of Catholic primary and secondary schools under diocesan oversight, with a comparable multi-site academy structure and similar faith-based mission.
• Holy Cross Catholic Multi Academy Company: Catholic Multi Academy Company (MAC) operating a family of Catholic schools in the West Midlands under diocesan oversight, structurally and operationally comparable to PFMAC.
• Thomas Coram Catholic Schools Trust: Catholic multi-academy trust in the London/central England region running multiple primary and secondary Catholic schools with shared governance, governance structure, and faith-based mission comparable to PFMAC.
• Bosco Catholic Education Trust: Catholic multi-academy trust operating several primary and secondary Catholic schools under diocesan patronage, with a similar academy network model and centralized support team structure to PFMAC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-pope-francis-catholic-multi-academy-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries12 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 The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company