MELKSHAM Oak Community School and six primary schools in and around the town have formally converted into academies and joined a new trust.

As of this month they will be overseen by the Academy Trust of Melksham (ATOM), the first of its size in Wiltshire and the South West, made up of more than 2,200 pupils and more than 300 staff members.

In the trust are Bowerhill Primary School, Seend CofE Primary, Shaw CofE Primary, St George’s CofE Primary in Semington, St Mary’s Broughton Gifford CofE Primary and The Manor CofE Primary.

The three other primary schools in Melksham that have not joined the trust are River Mead, which is already part of The Mead Academy Trust, and Aloeric Primary and Forest and Sandridge Primary which are both looking to become part of it in the future.

Together under the trust the schools will collaborate to enhance children’s learning and will work independently of Wiltshire Council. They will receive money directly from the government’s education body, the Secretary of State, to spend.

A board of eight members, one from each school, and the chair of the trustees’ board, will act as the trust’s stakeholder, while the board of trustees will be accountable and responsible for the performance of all seven schools. On this board will be head of Melksham Oak Stephen Clark, who is chief executive officer of ATOM.

He said: “The ATOM is absolutely committed to continue the improvement in our schools so that our pupils get the best possible educational experience.”

Earlier this year all the schools held public consultations with parents and members of the public to find out how the trust would work.

Jackie Chalk, headteacher of Seend Primary School, said: “It has taken a lot of hard work to get there, work that has only been possible because as a group of heads we already had very strong working relationships built on mutual trust and respect.”

Gordon Campbell, head of St George’s Primary, added: “The opportunity to share expertise across the schools and to develop collaborative practice that will enable all the schools to provide the best possible education for our children is extremely exciting.”