The Athelstan Trust
The Athelstan Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating 10 state-funded secondary and primary schools serving over 5,000 students across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and South Gloucestershire, with supplementary professional development services for educators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersTetbury, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Athelstan Trust does
The Athelstan Trust is a non-profit Multi-Academy Trust established in March 2015 and headquartered in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, UK. It operates 10 state-funded schools — 6 secondary and 4 primary — serving over 5,000 students across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and South Gloucestershire. The Trust's portfolio includes Malmesbury School (the lead school and a National Teaching School judged Outstanding by Ofsted in March 2024), Bradon Forest School, The Dean Academy, Sir William Romney's School, Chipping Sodbury School, Abbeyfield School, and four primary schools (Leighterton, Avening, Charter, and King's Lodge).
The Trust's core products are its academies — secondary and primary schools delivered under the family-of-schools model that preserves each school's local character while centralising finance, IT, HR, and governance. Beyond school operations, the Trust runs a portfolio of professional development services: National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) delivered in partnership with UCL and Odyssey Teaching School Hub covering 8 leadership qualifications; OLEVI accredited programmes; CLEAPSS science and technology courses; bespoke CPD with School Improvement Leads; a themed CPD programme; and Learning Circuits cross-school visits. Educational technology used includes Microsoft Teams for online lessons, Padlet for virtual learning resources, and YouTube for the Athelstan Education Videos libraries.
Revenue is generated primarily through per-pupil government funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), supplemented by income from CPD and training services offered externally to schools and trusts across the South-West region. The Trust also serves as the Department for Education-appointed Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trust (FWAMS) for the South-West. Governance is provided by a board of trustees and members; the organisation is independently controlled with no parent company or external ownership. Recent strategic focus has been on cautious, geographically bounded expansion (within approximately a 1-hour radius of Tetbury), school improvement outcomes (e.g., Dean Academy's progression from Special Measures to Good), and the development of CPD as a regional service offering.
The Athelstan Trust firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Athelstan Trust
- Legal name
- The Athelstan Trust
- Website
- https://theathelstantrust.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- The Athelstan Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating 10 state-funded secondary and primary schools serving over 5,000 students across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and South Gloucestershire, with supplementary professional development services for educators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Athelstan Trust industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Multi-Academy Trust Education Services
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ)
Keywords
Where The Athelstan Trust is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tetbury
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Athelstan Trust business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Government Education Funding: As a Multi-Academy Trust operating state-funded schools, The Athelstan Trust receives government funding through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for the operation of its academies. This includes recurrent funding for educational operations and capital funding for infrastructure improvements.
- CPD and Training Services: The Trust offers Continuous Professional Development programmes including National Professional Qualifications, CLEAPSS courses, and OLEVI programmes to staff within and potentially outside the Trust, generating supplementary revenue.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
The Athelstan Trust product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Athelstan Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust that operates 10 state-funded secondary and primary schools across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and South Gloucestershire, delivering education to over 5,000 students. The Trust also provides professional development programmes including National Professional Qualifications, OLEVI teacher training, CLEAPSS science courses, Bespoke CPD, themed CPD, and Learning Circuits, and serves as the Department for Education's Flexible Working Ambassador MAT for the South-West region.
Product overview
The Athelstan Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust operating a network of 10 schools (6 secondary and 4 primary) across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and South Gloucestershire. The trust provides a unified educational platform with its constituent schools as the core offerings, supplemented by extensive professional development services including National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) programmes, OLEVI teacher training programmes, CLEAPSS science and technology support, bespoke CPD with School Improvement Leads, themed CPD programmes, and Learning Circuits cross-school visits. The trust also serves as the Flexible Working Ambassador (FWAMS) for the South-West region, providing advisory services on flexible working practices to other schools and trusts.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FWAMS (Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trusts and Schools): A DfE-appointed programme supporting school leaders to implement flexible working practices across schools in the South-West region.
Products and services
- Malmesbury School A secondary school and National Teaching School, judged Outstanding by Ofsted in March 2024, providing education to students aged 11-18 with high quality teaching and extensive enrichment opportunities.
- Bradon Forest School A secondary school in rural Wiltshire (Purton), educating young people for over 50 years with an excellent all-round education and modern facilities including a state-of-the-art sports hall. Judged Good by Ofsted in March 2023.
- The Dean Academy A secondary academy providing academic, artistic, sporting and cultural experiences with a focus on relentless school improvement and student leadership development. Moved from Special Measures to Good under Trust support (October 2021).
- Sir William Romney's School
- Chipping Sodbury School An ambitious and forward-thinking secondary school with core values of respect, integrity, responsibility and aspiration, aiming to inspire young people to achieve high standards. Improved from triple RI to Good (November 2022).
- Abbeyfield School The smallest secondary school in Chippenham, providing excellent academic outcomes with an enriching curriculum and strong pastoral care, with the motto 'Big enough to make a difference, yet small enough to know each child'.
- Leighterton Primary School A small, happy village school with a real family atmosphere, providing the highest standard of education with creative learning experiences.
- Avening Primary School
Quantifiable outcome
- The Dean Academy moved from Special Measures to Good (October 2021)
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use The Athelstan Trust
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Athelstan Trust technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature3 records
The Athelstan Trust partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Bath Spa UniversityminorThe Trust will work with Bath Spa University as an ITT (Initial Teacher Training) hub from September 2024 for teacher training provision.
- Odyssey Teaching School HubcoreThe Trust works with Odyssey Teaching School Hub to provide National Professional Qualification (NPQ) leadership programmes for staff from across The Athelstan Trust, including NPQSL, NPQH, and NPQEL qualifications.
- UCL (University College London)coreThe Trust partners with UCL's Centre for Educational Leadership to deliver NPQ programmes including NPQLT, NPQLBC, NPQLTD, NPQLL, NPQEYL, NPQSL, NPQH, and NPQEL qualifications.
- CLEAPSScoreCLEAPSS is an advisory service providing support in science and technology for schools. The Trust offers a range of CLEAPSS courses to match the needs of schools and partners across the wider region, including Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
- Department for Education (DfE)coreThe Trust was appointed by the DfE as the Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trusts and Schools (FWAMS) in the South-West region, to support school leaders to implement and embed flexible working in their schools.
- OLEVI (Outstanding Teacher Programme)coreOLEVI accredited programmes including Outstanding Teacher Programme, Creative Teacher Programme, and Outstanding Teaching Assistant Programme are facilitated by experienced school leaders across the Trust and local community.
- Avon Teaching School AllianceminorCollaborative partnership for delivering high-quality CPD to colleagues across Wiltshire and the wider region, working with schools in the alliance.
- North Wiltshire Federation GroupminorPartnership for delivering CPD programmes including TeachMeet approaches to sharing best practice across schools in the North Wiltshire area.
- National CollegeminorThe Trust makes extensive use of the National College online training which covers all phases, for staff development across the Trust.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Athelstan Trust competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cabot Learning Federation: A larger South-West Multi-Academy Trust serving schools across Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire — overlapping directly with Athelstan's geography. Comparable in mission to school improvement and central service sharing.
- Futura Learning Partnership: A South-West focused Multi-Academy Trust operating a network of primary and secondary schools. Directly comparable in regional footprint, MAT scale, and school improvement orientation to Athelstan.
- Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership: A Somerset-based Multi-Academy Trust operating a portfolio of secondary and primary schools with a comparable school improvement ethos. Operates in the same South-West region as Athelstan with a similar mix of primary and secondary schools.
- Excalibur Academies Trust: A South-West Multi-Academy Trust that grew to 20 schools and 10,000 pupils. Trustee Nicky Edmondson led Excalibur as CEO before joining Athelstan. Closest comparable in size, geography, and operating model within the same South-West region.
- Greenshaw Learning Trust: A growing Multi-Academy Trust operating secondary and primary schools across the South of England. Similar in scale (mid-sized MAT) and growth posture to Athelstan, with comparable school improvement and CPD offerings.
- Pathfinder Multi Academy Trust: A small Multi-Academy Trust operating schools in the South-West of England. Highly comparable in size and scope to the Athelstan Trust, particularly during Athelstan's earlier growth phase.
Broad incumbents
- Oasis Community Learning: A large national Multi-Academy Trust with a broad portfolio of primary and secondary academies. Operates with similar centralised school improvement infrastructure but serves a much larger and more geographically dispersed estate than Athelstan.
- Harris Federation: One of the largest Multi-Academy Trusts in England, operating primary and secondary schools across London and the South-East. Overlaps with Athelstan in core operating model (school improvement, central services) but operates at much greater scale and across a different geography.
- E-ACT: A national Multi-Academy Trust operating dozens of academies across multiple regions. Comparable operating model and school improvement focus to Athelstan, but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope.
Emerging players
- Ambition Institute: A teacher development charity delivering NPQs and early-career training across England. Athelstan trustee Rich Jefferson is Chair of Ambition Institute, and Ambition operates in the same teacher-CPD space where Athelstan delivers NPQs, OLEVI, and CLEAPSS programmes.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Athelstan Trust social profiles
Digital presenceThe Athelstan Trust compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
The Athelstan Trust financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Athelstan Trust leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles22 records
The Athelstan Trust subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries10 records
The Athelstan Trust funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Athelstan 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 The Athelstan Trust
What does The Athelstan Trust do?
The Athelstan Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust that operates 10 state-funded secondary and primary schools across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and South Gloucestershire, delivering education to over 5,000 students. The Trust also provides professional development programmes including National Professional Qualifications, OLEVI teacher training, CLEAPSS science courses, Bespoke CPD, themed CPD, and Learning Circuits, and serves as the Department for Education's Flexible Working Ambassador MAT for the South-West region.
Is The Athelstan Trust a public or private company?
The Athelstan Trust is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Athelstan Trust founded?
The Athelstan Trust was founded in 2015. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is The Athelstan Trust based?
The Athelstan Trust is headquartered in Tetbury, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Athelstan Trust make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Government Education Funding is the primary driver. The others are CPD and Training Services.
Who are The Athelstan Trust's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cabot Learning Federation, Futura Learning Partnership, Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership, Excalibur Academies Trust, Greenshaw Learning Trust and Pathfinder Multi Academy Trust. Broad incumbents are Oasis Community Learning, Harris Federation and E-ACT. Ambition Institute is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Athelstan Trust have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Athelstan Trust.
What industry is The Athelstan Trust in?
The Athelstan Trust's product category is Multi-Academy Trust Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADACAF, Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies, with a secondary code of EDADACAJ, Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations. Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.