United Learning is a group of state-funded schools and fee-paying

independent schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

operating in England. United Learning is the trading name for

United Church Schools Trust The United Church Schools Trust (UCST) is a large education charity in the United Kingdom which owns and operates a group of 12 independent schools. The charity is operating under the name United Learning as of 2012. History UCST was founded in ...

(UCST) and United Learning Trust (ULT). It is one of the largest 10 charities with the most employees in the UK, with central offices in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. It is governed by a board of trustees and run by an executive team. In 2012, ULT and UCST rebranded to operate under one name, United Learning. They legally remain as two separate charities.

History

United Church Schools Trust began life as the Church Schools Company, formed in 1883 by a committee including the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. The company was formed in response to the lack of academic education available for girls. The first school the company opened was

Surbiton High School Surbiton High School is a private independent school in Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England. It has seven buildings overall including the Boys’ Preparatory School, Girls’ Preparatory School, the Se ...

in 1884. By 1885, the company had 10 schools with 653 pupils between them. United Learning Trust was formed in 2002 as a subsidiary of the United Church Schools Trust (which comprised independent schools only) in response to the government's invitation to develop new state academies. United Learning Trust's first academy,

Manchester Academy The Manchester Academy, originally known as the University of Manchester Main Hall, is composed of four concert venues, located on the campus of the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England. The four venues are: Academy 1, 2 and 3 and ...

, opened in 2003, replacing Ducie High School, a school with a severe

truancy Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not refe ...

problem; the academy received an "outstanding" report from

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

in 2009. Inspectors noted: "No matter what their background, all groups of students make outstanding progress as they move through the years." In 2012, it was agreed that United Church Schools Trust and United Learning Trust should come together under the same branding, 'United Learning', bringing together the state and independent schools represented by the two related charities.

United Learning Trust

There were 72 United Learning state-funded schools in November 2019. They are free to attend, and accept students of all backgrounds, all faiths and none. The ethos is distinctly Christian and particularly

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The trust handles all the central bureaucracy that the schools need to have in place, for instance updating all of the statutory policies, such as these used in Lambeth human resources, capital spending and procurement.

Human resources (staffing)

These schools do not recognise the Burgundy Book teachers' pay and conditions of service agreements. Existing staff are transferred over on their existing contracts, following

TUPE The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 known colloquially as TUPE and pronounced , are the United Kingdom's implementation of the European Union Transfer of Undertakings Directive. It is an important part of UK la ...

new members of staff enter into an individual contract with the trust.

State-funded schools

Primary schools

* Abbey Hey Primary Academy,

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

* Beacon View Primary Academy,

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove exi ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

* Corngreaves Academy,

Cradley Heath Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with the ...

* Cravenwood Primary Academy,

Crumpsall Crumpsall is an outer suburb and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, bordered by Cheetham Hill, Blackley, Harpurhey, Broughton, Greater Manchester, Broughton, and Prestwich. The po ...

* Dukesgate Academy,

* The Galfrid School,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

* Grange Primary Academy,

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

* Ham Dingle Primary Academy,

Pedmore Pedmore is a residential suburb of Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England. It was originally a village in the Worcestershire countryside until extensive housebuilding during the interwar years saw it gradually merged into Stourbridge. The po ...

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

* Hanwell Fields Community School,

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

* High Hazels Academy,

Darnall Darnall is a suburb of eastern Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Darnall is approximately east-north-east of Sheffield city centre. History Darnall was initially a small hamlet usually included with Attercliffe. William Walker, a resident ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

* Hill View Primary School,

* Hunningley Primary School,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

* Langford Primary School,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

* Longshaw Primary Academy,

Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow to the ...

* Marborough Road Academy,

* Orchard Meadow Primary School,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

* Pegasus Primary School,

* Salisbury Manor Primary School,

* Silverdale Primary Academy,

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

* Southway Primary School,

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...

* Timbertree Academy,

* The Victory Primary School,

* Walthamstow Primary Academy,

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

* Whittingham Primary Academy,

* Wilberforce Primary School,

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

* Windale Primary School,

* Winston Way Academy, Ilford,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

* Worsbrough Bank End Primary School,

Secondary schools

The Albion Academy The Albion Academy (formerly the Albion High School) is a coeducational secondary school located in Pendleton, Salford, Greater Manchester. The school was formed from the merger of The Lowry High School in Lower Broughton, and Kersal High in ...

Accrington Academy Accrington Academy is a mixed 11-18 Academy in Accrington, Lancashire. It has designated specialisms in Sports and Mathematics. It is situated in the centre of Accrington. Accrington St Christopher's C of E High is nearby to the west. History Th ...

Avonbourne Boys' Academy Avonbourne Boys' Academy (previously "Harewood College" and "Portchester School") is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status in Bournemouth, England, for boys aged 11 to 16. The school was located on Portchester Road, bu ...

Avonbourne Girls' Academy Avonbourne Girls' Academy (formerly Avonbourne College) is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status located in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. It is a Single-sex school, single-sex all-girls school for 11- to 16-year-olds ...

Bacon's College Bacon's College is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Rotherhithe, London, England. It was previously a City Technology College, but officially changed to academy status in 2007. History Founded in 1703 by Josiah Bacon ...

Barnsley Academy Barnsley Academy is a secondary school in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The school opened in September 2006. The school has academy status, sponsored by United Learning. Ofsted judgements As of 2021, the school's most recent inspecti ...

Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology (formerly UTC Cambridge) is a university technical college opened in 2014. It is located on the Biomedical Campus, which encompasses Addenbrooke's Hospital, next to the Long Road Sixth Form College ...

Castle View Academy Castle View Academy is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school located in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. History Established in 1952 as Paulsgrove Secondary Modern School – it was renamed ...

Coleridge Community College Coleridge Community College is a secondary academy school with 750 places for children aged 11–16, situated on Radegund Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. The school is a member of the United Learning Cambridge Cluster (formerly the Par ...

The Cornerstone Academy The Cornerstone Academy (previously Carter Community School) is a co-educational secondary school located in Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, England. The school serves the Hamworthy and Turlin Moor areas and pupils are taken mostly from Hamworthy a ...

Glenmoor Academy Glenmoor Academy is a secondary school for girls located in the Ensbury Park area of Bournemouth in the English county of Dorset. The school was first established in 1877 as Winton British School, educating boys and girls up to age of 13. In 1 ...

Holland Park School Holland Park School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Holland Park, London, England. In 2013, it has attained academy status. Opened in 1958, the school became the flagship for comprehensive education, and at one time had ove ...

The Hurlingham Academy The Hurlingham Academy (formerly Hurlingham and Chelsea School) is an 11–16 mixed secondary school with academy status in Fulham, London, England. It was formerly a community school and adopted its current name after converting to an academ ...

The Hyndburn Academy The Hyndburn Academy, previously known as Norden High School and Sports College, is the United Learning, united learning academy school situated in the town of Rishton, Lancashire, United Kingdom. The current headteacher is Nicola Palmer, who wa ...

Irlam and Cadishead Academy Irlam and Cadishead Academy is a co-educational secondary school located in Irlam at the extreme western end of the City of Salford borough. History The school is an amalgamation of several earlier schools. In 2011, Irlam and Cadishead Communi ...

The John Roan School The John Roan School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Greenwich, south-east London, England. History Grammar schools The current school was originally two grammar schools. The boys' school was founded in 1677 and t ...

John Smeaton Academy John Smeaton Academy is a co-educational secondary school located in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The school educates children aged 11–18 from across Leeds and its surrounding villages including Scholes, Cross Gates, Barwick-in-Elmet, Pe ...

Lambeth Academy The Elms Academy is a mixed secondary academy in the London borough of Lambeth. Its sponsor is United Learning. Admissions Lambeth Academy is owned and run by United Learning, a subsidiary of the United Church Schools Trust. In Summer 2011 t ...

The Lowry Academy The Lowry Academy (formerly Harrop Fold School) is a coeducational secondary school located in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which serves pupils from Little Hulton and Walkden. The school is named after the noted Salford artist, L.S. Lo ...

Marsden Heights Community College Marsden Heights Community College is a coeducational secondary school located in Brierfield, Lancashire, England. History The school opened in September 2006, as part of the first wave of a nationwide 10 to 15-year programme of capital invest ...

Midhurst Rother College Midhurst Rother College is a mixed Academy for students aged 11 to 19, in Midhurst, West Sussex, in southern England. It was officially formed on 1 January 2009 following the closure of three predecessor schools in the area. It serves a wide rur ...

Newstead Wood School Newstead Wood School is a selective girls' grammar school in Avebury Road, Orpington, south east London, England. Admissions The school specialises in engineering and psychology. It is a grammar school which admits girls in Year 7 based on ...

North Oxfordshire Academy North Oxfordshire Academy is a coeducational academy school in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It opened in September 2007, replacing the comprehensive Drayton School. It caters for children and young adults between the ages of 11 and 18. The ...

Northampton Academy Northampton Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Northampton, Northamptonshire for students aged 11 to 18. Since September 2004, it has been an Academy, part of United Learning, a subsidiary of the United Church Schools Tru ...

Nova Hreod Academy Nova Hreod Academy (formerly Hreod Burna Senior High School, Hreod Parkway School and Nova Hreod College) is a mixed secondary school with academy status, located in Swindon, Wiltshire for students aged 11 to 16. History ''Hreod'' is the An ...

Paddington Academy Paddington Academy is a non-selective co-educational secondary school and academy located in Maida Vale in the borough of Westminster and the ceremonial county of London, England. Established in September 2006, it is run by United Learning, form ...

Parkside Community College Parkside Community College is a secondary academy school with 600 places for children aged 11–16, situated in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. It is part of the United Learning Cambridge Cluster, along with Parkside Sixth, Coleridge Community Colleg ...

The Regis School The Regis School (previously Bognor Regis Community College) is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It converted to academy status from LEA control in January 2012, under the sponsors ...

Richard Rose Central Academy Richard Rose Central Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status. It is located in Carlisle in the English county of Cumbria. History Grammar school The school traces its roots to Carlisle & County High Sch ...

Richard Rose Morton Academy Richard Rose Morton Academy (formerly Morton School) is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the Morton area of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The school converted to academy status on 1 September 2008, and is in a f ...

Salford City Academy Salford City Academy (formerly Canon Williamson C.E. High School, and before that Eccles C.E. High School) is a state comprehensive high school and academy situated in the Peel Green area of Eccles, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Sal ...

Seahaven Academy Seahaven Academy(formerly Tideway Comprehensive School) is a growing secondary school in Haven Way, Newhaven, East Sussex , Newhaven, East Sussex. The school's academic achievements improved considerably when the school joined the multi academy ...

Sedgehill School Sedgehill Academy, previously Sedgehill School, is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Lewisham, London, England. It is part of United Learning. History The school opened in 1957 as a flagship campus for the new compreh ...

Sheffield Park Academy Sheffield Park Academy is a high performing 11–18 secondary school in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, with almost 1,200 pupils, including 150 in a dedicated Sixth Form. The academy is part of United Learning, a national group of schools ...

Sheffield Springs Academy Sheffield Springs Academy is an 11-16 secondary school serving the Park, Manor and Castle wards of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The academy is part of United Learning, a national group of schools whose motto is "''the best in everyone'' ...

Shoreham Academy Shoreham Academy is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England which opened in September 2009. The academy replaced Kings Manor Community College, which closed in August ...

Stockport Academy Stockport Academy is a non-selective co-educational school within the English Academy programme, located in Cheadle Heath, Stockport, Greater Manchester. It caters for children aged 11–16 and has approximately 869 pupils on roll. History The sc ...

The Totteridge Academy The Totteridge Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Barnet, North London, England. History Founded in 2016, The Totteridge Academy (also known as TTA) is part of the United Learning United Learning is a group of s ...

Trumpington Community College Trumpington Community College is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school located in the Trumpington area of Cambridge in the English county of Cambridgeshire. The school is named after the village of Trumpington which is located ne ...

Walthamstow Academy Walthamstow Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Walthamstow, London. The school is sponsored by United Learning. Walthamstow Academy also has a Sixth Form which opened in 2013 References External links School Websi ...

Winton Academy Winton Academy is an all-boys secondary school located in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The school was founded in 1877 and was expanded on a restricted site until 1995 when it moved to its present site. Originally named Winton Boys' School the s ...

* Wye School

All-through schools

Goresbrook School Goresbrook School is a mixed all-through free school in Dagenham in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The school is run by the United Learning organisation. The school opened in September 2014 on the site of the Goresbrook Leisure ...

Kettering Buccleuch Academy Kettering Buccleuch Academy is a mixed all-through school and sixth form located in Kettering in the English county of Northamptonshire. The school educates pupils from the age of 4 to 18. The school was formed in 2009 from the merger of Avo ...

Swindon Academy Swindon Academy is a non-selective co-educational school within the English academy programme, in the Pinehurst area of Swindon, north of the town centre. It caters for children aged 3 to 19 and has 1,769 pupils on roll . History The history of ...

William Hulme's Grammar School William Hulme's Grammar School is a mixed all-through school in Whalley Range, Manchester, England. History William Hulme (1631–1691) of Hulme Hall, Stockport, was the founder of "Hulme's Charity" later known as the Hulme Trust. Follow ...

United Church Schools Trust

Fee paying schools in the associated

include:

Primary & preparatory schools

* Banstead Preparatory School * Coworth Flexlands School * Rowan Preparatory School * St Ives School Haslemere

Senior & all-through schools

AKS Lytham AKS Lytham (AKS), or ArnoldKEQMS, is an independent, co-educational day school located on the Fylde, Lancashire, England. It was formed from the merger of King Edward VII and Queen Mary School (KEQMS) in Lytham St. Annes and Arnold School in Bl ...

Ashford School Ashford School is a coeducational independent boarding and day school in East Hill, Ashford, Kent. There are 480 students in the senior school (ages 11 to 18) and 360 in the prep school (ages 3 to 11). The school is owned and run by the Unit ...

* Dunottar School * Embley *

Guildford High School Guildford High School is an independent day school for girls that was founded in 1888. Approximately 1,000 girls between ages 4 to 18 attend the school from Guildford and its surrounding towns and villages. The school comprises a Junior School ...

Tranby School Tranby School, commonly known in the area as the 'Collegiate' or 'Tranby Croft', is a co-educational independent day school in Anlaby, near Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 2005 as a result of a merger of two of t ...

Lincoln Minster School Lincoln Minster School (Known locally as "LMS" or "The Minster") is an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Lincoln, England. It comprises three schools: the nursery and pre-preparatory, preparatory, and senior school. While the ...

References

External links

United Learning website

Consultant interview with Mandy Coulter of UL over HR challenges
{{authority control Charities based in Cambridgeshire Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Academy trusts