YORK'S only Catholic secondary school has begun consulting with parents on plans to form a brand new 21-school academy trust.

All Saints RC School, which is located on a split site at Mill Mount and Nunnery Lane in South Bank, wants to become part of the new St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Academy Trust.

In a letter to parents - out-going head teacher, Bill Scriven, who is leaving the school after 22 years, and chairman of governors, Peter Cannings say: "Our school governors welcome the potential for improvement that academy status can bring through a closer collaborative approach, allowing expertise and resources to be shared."

The school is part of the Diocese of Middlesbrough which has 54 Catholic schools and academies spread across seven local authority areas, with some 17,514 pupils.

All Saints is one of the schools is in the central region of the diocese which together educate about 7,000 children and employ a large number of teachers as well as a range of

support staff.

Under the plan the schools within the diocese will form three Catholic Academy Trusts serving the north, centre and south of the diocesan region. The northern trust, the Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust and the southern trust, the St Cuthbert’s Catholic Academy Trust have already been formed. And the St Margaret Clitherow Catholic

Academy Trust will serve the central diocesan areas of North Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and York.

GALLERY OF OLD ALL SAINTS PHOTOS

The plan is for St Margaret Clitherow to include 21 schools, 20 Catholic schools and one Catholic / Church of England school in the diocesan central region.

The trust will employ a chief executive officer who will be supported by a team of highly qualified school improvement experts to share expertise across the 21 schools.

There will also be a 12-strong academy trust board focused in raising standards across all the schools. Each individual school will also continue to have its own governing body who

will have responsibility for the day to day oversight and governance of the school.

Micklegate ward Labour councillor, Jonny Crawshaw, objects to the plan, he said: "It is regrettable that All Saints have chosen to go down the Academy route at this time.

"Nationally there has been a significant slow down in the number of conversions and locally no new schools have expressed an interest in leaving the Local Authority in the past 18 months or more.

"This reflects a growing realisation that there is no financial reward to conversion, it does not lead to improved education standards and any benefits of collabortive working can be equally well achieved within the Local Authority setting."

Consultation is now underway and closes at 5pm on Friday, September 28.

Should the plan go ahead the plan is for the change to take place on September 1, 2019.