Gosforth Group Ltd

What Gosforth Group Ltd does

Gosforth Group Ltd is a charitable multi-academy trust (legally Gosforth Federated Academies Ltd, a company limited by guarantee) operating six schools across Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside in North East England. Founded in 2010 with Gosforth Academy as its founding school, the trust has grown organically and via academy conversion to include Gosforth Junior High Academy (2011), North Gosforth Academy (2018), Jesmond Park Academy (2019), and two new free schools — Callerton Academy and Great Park Academy, both opened in September 2021 under the DfE Free School Programme. The trust serves approximately 6,500 students aged 5-18 across primary, secondary, middle school and Sixth Form phases, and employs approximately 700 staff across academies and central services.

The trust's product surface spans core education delivery, a Children's Workforce Foundation Degree validated by the University of East London (delivered at its Gosforth Learning Hub as sole North East delivery partner), a centralised services platform (finance, procurement, ICT, HR, estates, governance, communications, data), and academy facility hire (sports halls, classrooms, theatres, meeting rooms) to community groups outside core hours via the Pitchbookings platform. Technology infrastructure is described as standard educational technology for academy management with no proprietary systems identified; recent sustainability investments include a 320kWh solar PV deployment, LED conversion, EV charging and building performance sensors at Gosforth Academy via a SolarForSchools partnership.

Revenue is generated primarily through state funding from the Department for Education under academy trust funding agreements, supplemented by Newcastle City Council Section 106, CIL and Basic Need capital contributions, facility lettings income, and Foundation Degree tuition. Specific revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. Governance is provided by unpaid volunteer Members, Trustees and local governors with no external parent company or institutional investor; the CEO and Accounting Officer is Dr. Alexandra Thorp, a former Senior His Majesty's Inspector at Ofsted. Distribution is direct via the six academy sites and the Learning Hub, supported by a website, active Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn presence, earned media coverage, and a dedicated recruitment partner (Sam People Recruit).

Name

Gosforth Group Ltd

Legal name

Gosforth Federated Academies Ltd

Website

https://gosforthgroup.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Gosforth Group Ltd is a charitable multi-academy trust operating six schools across Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside, serving approximately 6,500 students and 700 staff, funded primarily by the UK Department for Education and supplemented by facility lettings and a University of East London-validated foundation degree programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education (Multi-Academy Trust)

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools (EDAJABAA)

Keywords

• Multi academy trust
• Primary secondary education
• School improvement services
• Academy operations support
• Foundation degree programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle Upon Tyne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: State-funded education through the Department for Education funding agreements for academy trusts
2. Facility Lettings: Revenue from letting academy spaces including sports halls, classrooms, theatres, and meeting spaces to community groups, adult education providers, and local clubs outside core school hours
3. Foundation Degree Tuition: Children's Workforce Degree programme validated by University of East London, with tuition fees for professional development courses

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gosforth Group Ltd is a charitable multi-academy trust operating six state-funded schools (primary, middle and secondary academies with Sixth Form provision) across Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside, serving approximately 6,500 students. Beyond school operations, the trust delivers a Children's Workforce (CCW) Foundation Degree validated by the University of East London, provides centralised professional services (finance, HR, ICT, estates, procurement, governance, communications) to its academies, and lets academy facilities to community groups outside school hours.

Product overview

Gosforth Group Ltd operates as a multi-academy trust providing education services through six academies: Gosforth Academy (founding secondary with Sixth Form), Gosforth Junior High Academy (Years 5-8), North Gosforth Academy (secondary), Jesmond Park Academy (secondary with Sixth Form), Callerton Academy (secondary), and Great Park Academy (middle/deemed secondary). The Trust also offers the CCW Foundation Degree programme for the children's workforce and provides Central Services (including finance, procurement, ICT, HR, estates, communications, and governance support) to all academies. Additional offerings include facility hire services for community use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gosforth Academy The trust's founding secondary school and Sixth Form, educating around 2,000 students in Years 9-13 from Newcastle.
• Gosforth Junior High Academy A middle school serving around 1,500 students in Years 5-8 from the Newcastle area, joined the trust in 2011.
• North Gosforth Academy A secondary school serving around 600 students in Years 7-11 from the North Tyneside area, joined the trust in 2018.
• Jesmond Park Academy A secondary school and Sixth Form supporting over 2,000 students in Years 7-13 from across Newcastle, joined the trust in 2019.
• Callerton Academy A secondary school opened in 2021 to serve 1,800 students in Years 7-11 from across Newcastle's West End.
• Great Park Academy A middle school (deemed secondary) opened in 2021 to serve 1,200 students in Years 5-11 from the Gosforth/Great Park area.
• CCW Foundation Degree Programme A degree programme for professionals in the children's workforce, validated by the University of East London. Gosforth Group is the sole North East delivery partner and delivers the programme at its Learning Hub in Gosforth.
• Academy Facility Hire Hire of academy spaces including sports halls, classrooms, theatres and meeting rooms to community groups, adult education providers and local clubs outside core school hours, managed through a central lettings service.

Quantifiable outcome

• Gosforth Academy progress figure of +0.64, placing it in the top 3% of schools in the North East
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Newcastle United FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Community partnership for student engagement activities at NUCASTLE hub, focusing on opportunity, aspiration and future pathways. Students from Jesmond Park Academy participated in inspiring day connecting education with real-world possibilities.
• SolarForSchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Partnership for GB Solar Energy Programme at Gosforth Academy, including comprehensive sustainability upgrades: 320kWh solar PV system, LED lighting conversion, EV charging points, and building performance sensors. SolarForSchools also provides educational resources and workshops for students on environmental issues.
• Department for Education (DfE)coreOthers · 1 October 2025DfE funding through Free School Programme (Wave 10 and Wave 13) for Callerton Academy and Great Park Academy. Both schools received substantial investment for permanent new building construction, opened September 2025.
• Newcastle City CouncilcoreOthers · 1 October 2025Newcastle City Council provided support via Section 106, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Basic Need funding for new school buildings at Callerton Academy and Great Park Academy.
• OASESminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Environmental education charity that coordinated Great Park Academy's Climate Friendly School Status assessment and award, recognising whole-school commitment to sustainability.
• University of East LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGosforth Group is the sole North East delivery partner for the Children's Workforce Degree, validated by University of East London. Programme delivered at the Learning Hub in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne.
• Gatsby Charitable FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGosforth Group's Senior Improvement and Aspirations Lead works closely with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation as a Gatsby Benchmark Champion to shape and promote updated Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Careers Guidance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: One of the largest multi-academy trusts in the UK operating dozens of schools across primary, secondary and alternative provision. Highly comparable as a national-scale MAT with central services infrastructure, though it operates on a far larger and more geographically diversified footprint than Gosforth.
• Harris Federation: Large MAT operating primary and secondary academies with strong emphasis on academic outcomes and central professional services. Directly comparable on the academy-trust model and outcome-driven positioning, though primarily London-weighted.
• Oasis Community Learning: Large national MAT running academies and community hubs across England, with a multi-academy trust structure mirroring Gosforth's. Comparable governance, central-services model, and growth-by-acquisition strategy, but at materially greater scale.
• Outwood Grange Academies Trust: One of the largest MATs in England with a strong reputation for school improvement and outcomes. Comparable as a secondary-focused MAT pursuing a similar improvement-led, scale-driven strategy, though operating at significantly larger scale than Gosforth.

Direct peers

• Greenwood Academies Trust: Multi-academy trust operating schools across the East Midlands and other regions, structured similarly as a charitable company limited by guarantee. Comparable on trust-level central services, scale (~6,500-7,000 pupils range), and academy-acquisition growth model.
• Laidlaw Schools Trust: Regional MAT operating a network of academies across the North East with a comparable school-improvement-led growth strategy. Direct competitor for academy conversions and parent choice in overlapping Newcastle/North Tyneside catchments.
• Northern Education Trust: Multi-academy trust headquartered in the North East of England operating a portfolio of primary and secondary schools across the region. The closest direct geographic peer to Gosforth, competing for the same pool of converting schools and central-services talent in NE England.

Others

• University of East London: Validating university partner for Gosforth's CCW Children's Workforce Foundation Degree. Not a competitor but a strategic enabler whose degree-awarding authority underpins Gosforth's higher-education revenue stream.

Regional players

• Excelsior Trust: North East-based multi-academy trust operating a comparable portfolio of secondary and primary academies. Overlaps with Gosforth on regional school-improvement positioning and competition for academy-conversion candidates.
• Northern Lights Learning Trust: Newcastle/North East-focused multi-academy trust operating a smaller portfolio of schools in overlapping catchments. Direct regional competitor for parental choice and academy-conversion pipeline in the same local-authority areas Gosforth serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GosforthGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gosforth-group-multi-academy-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/gosforthgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 Gosforth Group Ltd