Celebrations as village primary school joins Boston-based Voyage Education Partnership

Pupils holding Voyage welcome cakes with Old Leake Primary Academy Headteacher Vicki Hardwick.

Now known as Old Leake Primary Academy, the school’s headteacher has welcomed the “new learning opportunities” the move brings.

Voyage's chief executive officer Emma Hadley said: "We are delighted that Old Leake Primary Academy has joined our Trust - we believe this will be a very positive move for both the school and Voyage.

"We are excited to now be working with their learners, staff and families, and look forward to seeing the school continue to go from strength-to-strength in the future.

Pupils celebrate outside their school with headteacher Vicki Hardwick.

"Voyage is an inclusive and learner-centred MAT. Our commitment is to educate, empower and champion all learners - and we work closely with the families and communities we serve.”

This now brings the number of schools in the Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) to nine - eight primaries and one secondary. The number of pupils across the trust as also risen to nearly 4,000, and staff numbers to over 500.

Old Leake Primary Academy will keep its current uniform and staff.

Headteacher Vicki Hardwick, said: "Everybody at the school is extremely excited to become part of Voyage on the next stage of our journey - and I, as headteacher, am extremely proud to lead our school through this fantastic transition.

Old Leake Primary Academy pupils enjoying some 'welcome cakes' from VEP.

"We are looking forward to fully embracing the collaborative learning opportunities the partnership will bring and using these to deliver excellence for our learners in all areas."

Mrs Hadley addd: "At Voyage we have a strong academy improvement team who can support all of our academies to be the best they can be.

“We offer a high-quality professional development package to our teachers and support staff, and important opportunities for them to collaborate and network with colleagues at other academies. We are also able to benefit from reduced costs by merging contracts, buying in bulk, and sharing resources.

“Providing Trust policies, central services and high-quality support all enable our Headteachers to concentrate their time on teaching and learning, to enable our learners to access a rich and vibrant curriculum - which not only gives them the necessary literacy and numeracy skills but also prepares them for life in the wider world.”