The Wessex Learning Trust is delighted to announce that as of today (April 1) four new schools in the Cheddar area have joined the organisation.

The new members are Cheddar First School, Draycott and Rodney Stoke First School, Shipham First School and Fairlands Middle School.

This now takes the trust up to 13 schools and will enable it to continue to pursue its vision of an exceptional education for all, from ages two to 19.

The four schools, formally part of the Mendip Edge Federation, are all schools with whom the trust already had a close working relationship, with the first schools feeding into Fairlands, which itself fed into the Kings of Wessex.

However, the trust has now formalised this partnership so that new levels of collaboration between the schools can be achieved.

The addition of these schools to the trust makes it one of the only multi academy trusts in the country to comprise all its feeder schools within one trust.

The trust says that thanks to this unprecedented position it is now able to focus its work on ensuring continuity and a clear progression through the schools, for the benefit of learners and their parents.

Chief executive of the Wessex Learning Trust, Gavin Ball, said: "The trust's growth is important so as we are able to safeguard our educational ethos for the future.

"The addition of Cheddar, Draycott and Rodney Stoke, Shipham and Fairlands to our trust marks a great milestone in collaboration across the Cheddar Valley, and we sincerely look forward to the incredible things which we will be able to achieve by working together."

"We believe that this new partnership will provide huge opportunities for our learners, our schools, and our staff, and we welcome our new partners into our Wessex Family with open arms.

"Although at this moment, education faces an unusual set of challenges in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, we nevertheless look forward to continuing our trust journey together."