SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST

What SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST does

Sussex Learning Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) and charitable company limited by guarantee, operating six schools across West Sussex, England: Warden Park Secondary Academy, Warden Park Primary Academy, Northlands Wood Primary Academy, Woodgate Primary Academy, Chichester Free School (all-through, ages 4–16), and Billingshurst Primary Academy. The trust serves approximately 4,000 students and employs approximately 600 staff, with its headquarters co-located at Warden Park Secondary Academy in Cuckfield. Founded in 2011 as Warden Park Academy Trust following the conversion of Warden Park Secondary to academy status, the organisation was rebranded Sussex Learning Trust in 2014 under CEO Jonathan Morris, a Department for Education National Leader of Education.

The trust's core operational platform delivers primary, secondary, and all-through education funded primarily through the government's General Annual Grant (GAG) per-pupil allocation, supplemented by an Annual Partnership Contribution (APC) paid per pupil by member academies to fund central services including leadership development, compliance, financial services, governance support, and strategic planning. Supporting technology includes the Insight Tracking assessment platform (deployed across primary academies for consistent data collection and reporting) and CPOMS for safeguarding management across all trust schools. Beyond education delivery, the trust operates a venue hire service (sports halls, studios, playing fields) and a tiered community partnership programme (Community Supporter £500+, Community Partner £2,000+, Strategic Partner £5,000+) to engage local businesses.

Growth is organically driven through a geographically clustered acquisition strategy: the trust has absorbed four schools since 2012 (Warden Park Primary 2012, Northlands Wood 2017, Woodgate 2023, Chichester Free School 2023, Billingshurst Primary 2024), has been approved to open a new school in Burgess Hill as part of the Northern Arc development, and is in discussions with another local secondary school. The trust is a member of the Confederation of School Trusts (since 2018) and holds quantifiable improvement credentials, including a 25% Key Stage 2 attainment increase at Warden Park Primary in its first year of improvement support and a 14% GCSE improvement at Warden Park Secondary under current leadership.

Name

SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST

Legal name

Sussex Learning Trust

Website

https://sussexlearningtrust.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sussex Learning Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust operating six primary, secondary, and all-through schools across West Sussex, England, serving approximately 4,000 students and 600 staff under a government-funded education model with shared central services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education (Multi-Academy Trust)

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Multi-academy trust
• Primary education
• Secondary education
• School improvement services
• Teacher training programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Cuckfield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (GAG): Annual government funding allocated to the Trust for every academy through the General Annual Grant (GAG). Each academy retains a notional reserve equivalent to 4% of GAG for protection against unforeseen circumstances.
2. Annual Partnership Contribution (APC): Schools contribute to the Trust through an Annual Partnership Contribution set per pupil. This funds central services including leadership development, compliance, financial services, governance support, and strategic planning.
3. Venue Hire and Facilities Rental: Revenue generated through hiring school facilities including sports halls, classrooms, performing arts studios, playing fields, and specialist spaces to community groups, sports clubs, and event organizers.
4. Community Partnership Packages: Partnership packages offered to businesses: Community Supporter (£500+), Community Partner (£2,000+), and Strategic Partner (£5,000+) providing website recognition, event sponsorship, and networking opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sussex Learning Trust operates a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) running six academy schools across West Sussex, providing primary and secondary state-funded education to approximately 4,000 students with around 600 staff. Alongside school operations, the trust sells teacher training, school improvement and academy conversion services, hires out school facilities and venues, and runs a community partnership programme for local businesses and organisations.

Product overview

Sussex Learning Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust operating as a unified platform of educational services across six academies. The Trust provides a comprehensive portfolio including school-based teacher training programmes with pathways to Qualified Teacher Status, academy improvement services with peer reviews and professional development networks, school facilities and venue hire services, and community partnership programmes with tiered sponsorship levels. The core offering centres on collaborative school improvement, with the academies themselves serving as the primary educational delivery mechanism for approximately 4,000 students across primary, secondary, and all-through phases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Warden Park Secondary Academy: A highly popular mixed secondary school with a strong academic and sporting tradition, judged 'Good' by Ofsted with 'Outstanding' leadership.
• Warden Park Primary Academy
• Northlands Wood Primary Academy
• Woodgate Primary Academy
• Chichester Free School
• Billingshurst Primary Academy

Quantifiable outcome

• Warden Park Primary Academy Key Stage 2 attainment increased by 25% in first year of targeted school improvement support
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• BOSCO Teaching School AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool Choice and School Direct programme partner for teacher training. Allows prospective trainees to apply directly to the school where they wish to train, with applications considered jointly by the chosen school, BOSCO, and University of Sussex.
• University of SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for teacher training programmes. Jointly considers School Direct applications with BOSCO and partner schools. Provides academic accreditation and theoretical framework for training programmes.
• Teach South EastsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional teacher training partner supporting recruitment and professional development for teaching careers in South East England.
• Insight TrackingsupportingTechnology or IntegrationAssessment tracking platform introduced across primary academies for consistent collection, analysis, and reporting of assessment information. Provides leaders and teachers with clearer picture of pupil progress and establishes common framework for discussion.
• Confederation of School Trusts (CST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSussex Learning Trust has been a member of CST since 2018. CST provides professional guidance, advocacy, and networking for school trusts across the UK.
• Get into TeachingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment programme providing guidance on entry requirements, funding, scholarships and interview preparation for teaching careers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• REAch2 Academy Trust: A primary-focused multi-academy trust with a national footprint and a strong school-improvement methodology. REAch2 is a direct peer because it shares Sussex Learning Trust's emphasis on data-driven leadership, peer reviews, and school-to-school improvement, and similarly markets a membership proposition to underperforming primaries.
• NET (Nene Education Trust): A regional cluster multi-academy trust in the East Midlands that has grown through converting underperforming schools and joining primary and secondary phases. NET is a direct peer because it operates with a comparable pupil-roll scale, follows the same geographic cluster playbook, and is anchored by a central improvement team offering shared services to member schools.
• Greenshaw Learning Trust: A South East-focused multi-academy trust that has grown through a similar cluster-based conversion strategy in Surrey and surrounding areas. Greenshaw is a direct peer because it operates a comparable mix of primary and secondary academies, pursues geographic density over national scale, and emphasises school-to-school improvement support - the same playbook Sussex Learning Trust follows in West Sussex.
• Step Academy Trust: A South East regional multi-academy trust operating a cluster of primary and secondary schools with a comparable size profile to Sussex Learning Trust. Step is a direct peer because it shares the regional-cluster growth strategy, focus on school-to-school improvement support, and a similar public-facing partnership and venue-hire model for community engagement.
• Bohunt Education Trust: A Hampshire-based multi-academy trust built around a flagship school's improvement methodology and now spanning several secondary and primary academies. Bohunt is a direct peer because it shares Sussex Learning Trust's school-improvement-led growth narrative, regional clustering, and emphasis on shared professional development networks across member schools.
• University of Brighton Academies Trust: A Brighton-based regional multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools across East Sussex with a similar size and clustering focus. It is a direct peer because of overlapping South East geography, comparable mix of primary and secondary phases, and a parallel reliance on back-office shared services to support school improvement.

Broad incumbents

• GLF Schools: A large South East multi-academy trust operating dozens of primary and secondary schools across Surrey, Berkshire and Sussex. GLF is a broader incumbent that overlaps Sussex Learning Trust's geography and primary/secondary mix, but operates at substantially greater scale with a more mature central platform and a wider catchment.
• Academies Enterprise Trust (AET): A large national multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary academies across England. AET is a broader incumbent peer because it targets the same conversion pipeline and offers shared services and improvement support to member schools, but competes from a substantially larger national footprint and central platform.
• E-ACT: A national multi-academy trust operating a portfolio of primary and secondary academies across multiple English regions. E-ACT is a broader incumbent peer because it competes for new conversions and offers school-improvement services from a central team, but at meaningfully greater scale and geographic spread than Sussex Learning Trust.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: One of England's largest national multi-academy trusts, operating academies across multiple regions. Ormiston is a broader incumbent because it competes for the same pool of converting schools and offers a similar school-improvement narrative, but at materially larger scale and with broader geographic reach than Sussex Learning Trust's West Sussex cluster.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks1 record

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sussexlearningtrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sussex-learning-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/sussexlearningtrust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries6 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 SUSSEX LEARNING TRUST