In 2006 a group of Ashington schools was chosen by the government to become pathfinders for a new educational venture - forming an educational trust.

One year later the schools in question, Ashington High School, Bothal Middle School, Central First School, Hirst Park Middle School and Wansbeck First School, formed the Ashington Learning Partnership and became one of the first twelve Trusts in the whole country.

We were joined in the venture by some very prestigious partners: Northumbria University, Northumberland County Council, Wansbeck Business Forum, Ashington Children’s Centre and Northumberland College.

The Trust was formed to improve the already good quality of the education of the children in the five schools, nearly 3,000 in all. By pooling resources and sharing the expertise of staff we have increased the range of provision for our pupils. More importantly, we have begun to explore new ways of delivering education to match the needs of our pupils.

In addition to making savings by joining together, the interest in the Trust has also enabled us to secure additional funding. One example of this is the building of a Business and Enterprise Centre costing over a third of a million pounds.

All in all it’s a ground-breaking educational project which will enrich the education of young people in our schools.