Sponsored Multi Academy Trusts

A network of over 50 schools serving more than 39,000 young people

Ormiston Trust is proud to sponsor three distinctive multi-academy trusts

Ormiston Academies Trust, Gateway Learning Community and Birmingham Ormiston Academy Group.

Together, they bring national reach, local community focus and specialist creative and digital pathways. Each trust has its own identity, leadership and strategy, but all share a commitment to ambitious, inclusive education and opportunities that help young people thrive.

As sponsor, we do not run these trusts day to day. Our role is to support, challenge, connect and champion them, adding value through governance, partnership, learning, fundraising, evaluation and shared practice.

Two secondary school students sketching and writing notes outdoors on a sunny day

53 Academies

Across all of our trusts

39,000+

Pupils supported

35 communities

supported by Ormiston academies

Ormiston Academies Trust

A national family of schools working to give children and young people the knowledge, confidence and opportunities they need to thrive.

Established in 2009, OAT is one of England’s oldest and largest academy trusts, supporting pupils and staff across a broad network of schools.

OAT’s work is organised around three core purposes: education, enrichment and futures. Education gives pupils strong academic foundations. Enrichment broadens their experiences, relationships, confidence and interests beyond the classroom. Futures helps young people leave school with the qualifications, skills and ambition needed for adult life, further study and employment.

The Trust’s scale enables it to share expertise, invest in school improvement and provide central support, while each academy remains rooted in its own local context. OAT’s strength lies in combining national capacity with a commitment to communities where education can make a decisive difference.

For Ormiston Trust, OAT is a major route through which its mission is delivered at scale: helping tens of thousands of young people access stronger education, richer experiences and more secure future choices.

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Group of young people and a youth worker planting flowers in a garden bed in an urban community space

Ormiston Academies Trust at a glance

Measure Current position

Schools 45

Pupils 35,000+

Staff 5,000+

Secondary schools 32

Primary schools 7

Special schools 3

Alternative Provision 3

Gateway Learning Community

A successful values led multi academy trust deeply rooted in its community

GLC brings together one secondary academy and four primary academies, creating a coherent local family of schools with deep roots in one area. Its schools are Gateway Academy, Gateway Primary Free School, Herringham Primary Academy, Lansdowne Primary Academy and Tilbury Pioneer Academy.

The Trust’s public identity is strongly values-led. Its motto, “All Different; All Equal,” reflects a commitment to inclusion, fairness and belonging. Across its academies, GLC promotes responsibility, resilience, compassion and aspiration, helping pupils develop as learners, citizens and members of their community.

Its local concentration is part of its distinctiveness. Because GLC works in a defined place, it can build long-term relationships with families, understand local needs, support pupils across the primary-secondary transition and work with partners to contribute to wider community confidence and aspiration.

For Ormiston Trust, Gateway Learning Community demonstrates the power of place-based education. It shows how schools can act as anchor institutions: improving learning, strengthening relationships with families and supporting community development over time.

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Gateway Learning Community at a glance

Measure Current position

Academies 5

Secondary academies 1

Primary academies 4

Pupils 2,988

Geographic focus Tilbury, Chadwell St Mary and Thurrock

BOA Group

A specialist multi-academy trust in Birmingham, focused on creative, digital, performing arts, technology, stage, television and film production

BOA Group works across the West Midlands to provide distinctive pathways for young people who want to develop their creative, technical and digital talent.

The BOA Group comprises three academies: BOA Creative, Digital and Performing Arts Academy, BOA Stage and Screen Production Academy, and BOA Digital Technologies Academy. Together, they offer specialist education across the 11–19 age range, with routes spanning performance, production, digital technologies, creative media, stage, screen and related technical disciplines.

BOA’s location is central to its purpose. Based in Birmingham, its academies connect young people to specialist facilities, industry expertise and real-world creative and digital opportunities.

For Ormiston Trust, BOA brings a distinctive enrichment and futures contribution. It helps young people turn talent and interest into skills, confidence, networks and credible future pathways in industries that can otherwise feel difficult to access.

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