CEO Blog

• Great Governance

  Mon 20 Oct 2025

  Saturday was our Annual Trust Governance Conference 2025 and the turnout was superb. We are incredibly fortunate in our Trust family of schools to have over 80 volunteers in various governance roles. These roles include Members, Trustees and Governors and is the highest tier of leadership across the Trust. This team of highly skilled, highly committed individuals have joined our Trust family to give something back to the community and to ensure every young person receives a high-quality education, coupled with great care, guidance and support. These individuals give their time generously, and offer support and professional challenge to Trust and school leaders to ensure a cycle of continuous improvement in every school. Every year our schools just get better and better.

   

  The conference opened with two of our confident and articulate year 10 learners outlining why education matters to them, and why young people in Batley should never be underestimated. It is important to us to open such events with our learners, as they are our customers and are the reason why leaders and staff at all levels do what we do-for the benefit of our children and our community.

   

  The conference then gave all delegates the time to consider our collective objectives for the year, how we build even stronger collaborations across our schools for collective efficacy. We are stronger together when schools work in partnership with children and their families, and local employers, businesses and services. There are no limits to what we can achieve together. Our Alumni (many of whom do come back as school governors, or to support careers guidance in our schools) are testament to that.

   

  2025/2026 is going to be another year filled with high achievements and success in Batley. Exciting times ahead! 

  

• Batley Brilliance - Batley Grammar style!

  Mon 13 Oct 2025

  Our Batley Brilliance events are a chance to showcase the great work our schools undertake every day to all our Members, Trustees and Governors from across the Trust family of schools.

   

  Last week witnessed the turn of Batley Grammar School to host the Batley Brilliance event. Visitors were given a tour of the school, a chance to see the dining hall during a busy lunchtime service and see how polite, respectful and harmonious the school community is, as well see (and taste) the great work of the chef Craig and his catering team. Batley Grammar School's chocolate brownies are legendary! 

   

  Governors were also able to see the site development works that had been undertaken over the summer to further enhance the school learning environment and more exciting works are planned for summer 2026 and beyond. Batley Grammar School is very popular and therefore needs to enhance and extend its provision to accommodate all of the first choice applications for both primary and secondary phase.

   

  However, the biggest treat of the day was a visit to the Personalised Learning Centre to see Mrs Baines and her team with a group of fantastic learners. Learners had made buns and gingerbread - all handmade, hand decorated and iced. The learners all spoke so eloquently and articulately about what the Personalised Learning Centre has meant to them in terms of their education and the progress they are making. 

   

  Batley Grammar School is a high-achieving, inclusive school who ensures every learner achieves their true potential. Batley Grammar School lives by its values of Respect, Community and Resilience. It was great for governors to see this first-hand and to hear the ambitions, aspirations and career goals of Batley learners. Well done to Mr Hughes and his staff team for hosting such an inspiring Batley Brilliance event. 

   

  

• Community Makes Us

  Mon 06 Oct 2025
  Our Trust family of schools are supporting the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, a vital local charity which supports children with life-shortening conditions and their families across West Yorkshire.

   

  In our schools our Learner Leadership Groups always choose charities to support each year that are close to their hearts. Forget Me Not Children's Hospice is one of those charities, and they have provided much needed support to so many families and children over many years. Our learners are committed to giving back to their community and to helping others. 

   

  This month we are supporting an event organised by Doors 2 Floors, a Batley-based company who work closely with our schools on careers based activities and who are keen to give something back to the community where their business is based. They are organising a fundraising event that will see runners make the journey from Dickys Gym in Batley to the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice in Huddersfield. Participants will then be given an opportunity to walk to Brighouse Boxing Club.

   

  Among those lacing up their running shoes are the British and Commonwealth super middleweight and European super-middleweight Champion, Callum Simpson; Sylwia Doligala, the Central Area Champion; Jasmina Zapotoczna, the EBU Flyweight and WBA International Champion; together with Nabil Ahmed, Cory O’Regan, and Brighouse’s own Jimmy First, a former Central Area Champion.

   

  Our Trust family of schools will be supporting this event with various fund raising activities, and we hope you will support this charity if you can - every little helps, and if everyone could give at least £1 each, that could make a huge difference to the crucial work this charity undertakes. Please help if you can. Community Makes Us.