A SCHOOL in Selby has become the first primary school to join a local academy trust.

Selby Community Primary School joined Selby College in the Selby Educational Trust (SET), on Friday, December 1.

SET is a multi-academy trust that receives state funding to support schools in Selby and outlying areas to help children succeed in each of their subjects, improve motivation and confidence, and raise children's aspirations to further education.

By joining SET, staff will share their expertise, knowledge and skills to collaborate with other members and improve schooling in the area, and the launch event saw staff from Selby CPS and Selby College, join members of SET and students of the primary school gather in their school hall for photographs and speeches from Allan Stewart OBE, principal of Selby College.

He said: "We are delighted that Selby Community Primary School have joined Selby Educational Trust. We hope that this is the first of many local schools to join the trust and I look forward to the strong working relationship we will have with this primary school."

Ian Clennan, headteacher at Selby CPS, said a period of public consultation had taken place, which led to the decision for the school to become an academy.

He said: "In order to grow and prosper, we needed to build on the many successes we have already achieved. When the opportunity arose to work alongside Selby College and other local school partners as part of Selby Educational Trust, we knew this was by far the right choice for us.

"We are proud to become the first school in Selby Educational Trust. Everything has gone smoothly and the way it was promised. The school is still the same as it was yesterday, our teachers are still providing the same high-quality education as they always have been, but the Trust will allow us thrive in ways we could not have previously imagined."

Francis Loftus, chief executive of SET, said: "We will be busily developing ways to share resources, enhance teaching and learning for children and young people, develop new ideas and ways of working, all to achieve a common aim of ensuring all schools participated are judged excellent and provide outstanding services that are second to none."