Our Principles

Commitment to Excellence

Commitment to Excellence

striving for the best educational experience through continuous improvement

We will enable our pupils, students, trainees and our staff to be highly successful, recognising that success comes in a wide variety of ways, growing a culture of continuous improvement where we look to provide the best possible educational experience.

Everyone Learning

Everyone Learning

creating and taking opportunities that enhance lives through evidenced based practice supporting adult and pupil learning

Schools in the Trust will work together to support and challenge each other, to share what is best and learn from evidenced based practice which is working well both within and beyond the Trust.Ìý We will be truly inclusive for all pupils, students and trainees, offering a rich and excellent educational experience whatever their academic ability, social background or special educational need.

Respectful Relationships

Respectful Relationships

acting with care, integrity, and fairness in all we do

Acting with care, integrity, and fairness will be demonstrated within schools, the SCITT, and across the Trust. We will continue to grow school communities where character matters for pupils, students, trainees and staff; how we treat other people and our responsibilities to ourselves, others and our communities will be at the heart of our schools.Ìý

A Brief History

Working together to achieve excellence in education

The River Learning Trust was formed in October 2015 when The Cherwell School Academy Trust, encompassing The Cherwell School and Cutteslowe Primary School, came together with Wolvercote Primary School and Tower Hill Primary School.Ìý Wheatley ParkÌý School joined laterÌý that academic year.Ìý The leaders and governors of these schools helped to shape the vision and principles of the Trust which remain in place to this day.Ìý Each school recognised that the benefits of working together in the context of a formal arrangement within a multi-academy trust provided the best opportunity to improve the experiences and outcomes of our pupils and staff.

Since that time the Trust has continued to grow with a mixture of sponsored and convertor academy schools, as well as a new free school. The school leaders and governors of these schools recognise the benefits of being part of RLT and collaborating in its future development.Ìý Sponsored schools are those which require extra support if they are experiencing a period of difficulty, whereas convertor schools are usually in a stronger position at the time they join the Trust.Ìý The Trust ensures that the balance of schools within the Trust supports the improvement of all of its schools; for its primary schools, in particular, it seeks to develop ‘hubs’ of locally connected schools to make it easier for them to work together.

In September 2017 the Trust included 4 secondary schools (2 convertors and 2 sponsored), 7 primary schools (5 convertors and 2 sponsored) and a large SCITT (school centred initial teacher training) provider, providing education for almost 7,000 pupils and trainees.Ìý With further schools, including a new secondary school, joining in 2018-2019 and 2 additional primary schools joining in December 2019 we start 2020 as a Trust of 22 schools (6 secondary and 16 primary) with over 10,000 pupils plus the SCITT.

Our collective vision is to be a Trust where pupils and staff thrive in schools which demonstrate:
• all-round education, academic success, lifelong learning and strength of character;
• sustainable continuous improvement with no school standing still;
• all schools being good and outstanding, or improving rapidly;
• collaboration that is raising standards and reducing workload for colleagues.