Uffculme Academy Trust is a vibrant, diverse partnership of schools working as a multi academy trust (MAT) across Devon and Somerset.
Uffculme Academy Trust (the Trust) is a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) whose mission is to enable effective collaboration and partnerships that will support outstanding educational experiences for the pupils attending each of the Trust’s schools and academies.
Uffculme Academy Trust is currently made up of 5 Academies, a Sport and Fitness Subsidiary and a Teaching (Training) School.
Our Academies are located in East and Mid-Devon and South Somerset
Axe Valley Academy
Axe Valley is an 11-16 school, with 590 students, based in Axminster, Devon – a beautiful market town based in East Devon. With its quaint villages and unspoilt countryside, and just a few miles inland from the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Axminster is the perfect place to live and work, with the best of Devon and Dorset on its doorstep.
We are immensely proud of Axe Valley because it is a real community. It is a completely comprehensive school offering high quality educational opportunities to students of all abilities and aptitudes. The progress of each individual student matters to us regardless of their starting points and despite their barriers.
Our beliefs as a school community are straightforward – to have a great school we need a great teacher in every classroom. Teachers are here to teach. Students are here to learn. There is no escaping that a huge part of the purpose of education is to equip children with the examination results that they need to give them as many options as possible. We must be in the business of opening doors for the young people in our care. We demand the highest standards and expect students to engage with their learning no matter what and we don’t apologise for this.
The leadership team consists of a mix of newly appointed and highly experienced senior leaders. All are driven to deliver exceptional experiences and educational outcomes for young people and have firmly bought into the Uffculme Academy Trust principles of excellence.
We have a school which staff and students are proud to be a part of and who enjoy working together. We aim to develop well rounded young people equipped to deliver positive change in their school and wider communities. Students need a broad education, one that nurtures specific positive character traits and virtues. We also pride ourselves on our pastoral care. Being a smaller school has some significant advantages and one of those is being able to know every student as an individual; to recognise and nurture their strengths; to teach kindness explicitly and to be as kind as we can.
Holyrood Academy
Holyrood Academy is an 11-18 Academy in Somerset with approximately 1250 students on roll – including around 150 in the sixth form. It is situated in the centre of the market town of Chard and it is the only secondary school in the town. We are therefore fully comprehensive and committed to providing an excellent education in the service of our whole community.
Holyrood was last inspected in 2013 when it achieved an Outstanding rating.
Outcomes have been historically strong and despite the considerable challenges brought by the changes to KS4 programmes of study, we have consistently achieved a positive progress 8 score placing us as reliably one of the top performing secondary schools in Somerset.
On 1st September 2019, Holyrood Academy along with its Devon partner school, Axe Valley Academy joined Uffculme Academy Trust thereby creating opportunities to work as part of a team of highly effective school leaders. It allows each school within the Trust to share good practice and provides exceptional opportunities to learn from each other. All our senior leaders are system leaders and regularly contribute to the leadership programmes of Teaching Schools across the region including those put on by our own Teaching School, WCTSA.
The leadership team at Holyrood Academy consists of a mix of newly appointed and highly experienced senior leaders. All are driven to deliver exceptional experiences and educational outcomes for young people and have firmly bought into the Uffculme Academy Trust principles of excellence.
Holyrood benefits from a large and beautifully situated site within easy commuting distance of towns such as Taunton and Yeovil as well as the cities of Exeter and Bristol. Chard is on the edge of the Blackdown Hills and close to both the Devon and Dorset coastlines. The Academy occupies a split site; however, both sites are located on the same campus. We are therefore lucky enough to have a great deal of open space and our staff and students enjoy excellent facilities.
Uffculme School
Uffculme School is a truly outstanding school with approximately 1050 students on roll, based in the village of Uffculme, situated in the rolling Blackdown Hills, close to the M5 motorway.
We believe that school should be a happy place where adults and children have fun. Students should enjoy learning; teachers enjoy teaching.
We have a strong ethos based on core values of respect, tolerance, and courtesy. We set high standards of behaviour and actively promote self-discipline, self-respect, resilience and responsibility. Through these values, our young people gain the confidence to take their place in society and develop the skills and attitudes to enable them to succeed in their chosen paths.
We offer the best quality educational opportunities to students of all abilities and aptitudes. Attainment is outstanding but it is not just about results. We aim to produce young people fit for the demands of a complex, global society. We have a proud tradition in outdoor education, musical, dramatic and sporting enrichment and value community service alongside high achievement.
We believe that the school is a place where you can make mistakes and lean from them and where kindness and good manners are as important as academic success and promise:
• New experiences and opportunities are shared and memories are created
• Young people have high self-esteem and confidence in their abilities
• Lively and enquiring minds are inspired to develop and achieve
• Everyone is included and everyone matters
• Success is recognised and celebrated
• It's cool to succeed
Neroche Primary School
Neroche Primary School is truly an exceptional place of learning – it is a single form of entry school with one class for each year group. We have over 210 pupils from Reception to Year 6 as well as over 40 children on role in our preschool setting.
Neroche Primary School is first and foremost a school where children feel safe, happy, confident and enthusiastic to learn. Neroche benefits from a lovely site set in the pretty village of Broadway, close to the beautiful market town of Ilminster. It is within easy commuting distance of towns such as Taunton and Yeovil as well as the cities of Exeter and Bristol.
Our dedicated staff team work hard to ensure that both academic and pastoral care needs are the heart of every decision made at Neroche. Whilst we aim to ensure every child reaches their full potential academically, they are also taught that they can be successful in many different ways.
Through our ambitious curriculum we strive for excellence and want all our learners to: • Be The Best You Can Be • Show That You Care We place a high value on: • Teamwork • Creativity • Independence • Resilience
Every child is unique and, at Neroche, we work hard to ensure that each child is nurtured and supported along their individual learning journey with us.
Uffculme Primary School
Uffculme Primary School is a single form of entry school with one class for each year group, with over 220 pupils from Reception to Year 6.
We place great emphasis on knowing children as individuals and identifying their individual needs. We provide a safe and happy environment in which all children can reach their full potential.
Our experienced, committed and dedicated team of teachers and support staff continually strive to provide the best quality of teaching and care to all our pupils so that each one can thrive and reach their full potential. We aim to deliver a creative and challenging curriculum across the whole school through a thematic approach with many enrichment activities.
We expect every child to work to their best ability in all aspects of their school life and to contribute to the life of the school and the communities we are part of. We believe in building links with our local community and beyond to help our children make sense of the world today and find their place in tomorrow’s world.