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BEXHILL Academy has today officially joined Mulberry Schools Trust, marking one of the most significant milestones in the school’s recent history.
The move, which takes effect from today (1 May), brings the Bexhill-on-Sea secondary school into a family of schools with a strong and growing presence across East Sussex and beyond.
The joining was planned and purposeful, a decision made from a position of strength. Bexhill Academy goes into the Mulberry family with momentum, a committed staff body, and a clear ambition to expand what it can offer the young people of Bexhill and the surrounding area.
Dr Craig Neal, Headteacher at Bexhill Academy said: “This is a proud day for Bexhill Academy and for everyone who has worked so hard to get us here. Joining Mulberry Schools Trust is not a change of direction, it is an acceleration of everything we have been building. Our pupils deserve the very best, and this partnership gives us the platform to deliver it. I am excited about what the months and years ahead hold for this school, this staff and this community.”
The joining follows a period of significant development at Bexhill Academy, during which the school has strengthened its community partnerships and built collaborative links with other schools in the region, including a celebrated operatic exchange programme with Mulberry Academy Shoreditch at the Royal Opera House earlier this year.
Mulberry Schools Trust has grown rapidly across East Sussex, with several schools joining the trust in recent months. Bexhill Academy’s membership further strengthens the trust’s footprint in the region and its commitment to serving young people across the county.
Alice Ward, Interim CEO, Mulberry Schools Trust commented: “We are delighted to welcome Mulberry Academy Bexhill into the Mulberry Schools Trust family. This is a significant and exciting moment for our Trust as we extend our work beyond London into East Sussex. We do so with great respect for the school’s history, its identity and the community it serves. Our approach is rooted in partnership and building on the strengths already in place while working together to secure the very best outcomes for every young person.
The Trust has been working with Bexhill over the last three years in its school improvement journey, and this next step reflects the strength of that collaboration. At Mulberry, we believe that education is a fundamental human right and that every child can achieve excellence. We are committed to providing the highest quality of education, grounded in inclusion, ambition and opportunity for all. We look forward to working closely with staff, students, families and governors at the Academy, and to learning from one another as part of a strong, collaborative and values-driven family of schools.”
For pupils at Bexhill Academy, day-to-day school life remains unchanged. The same staff, the same values and the same community-centred approach that has always defined the school will continue. What changes is the scale of resource, collaboration and opportunity that sits behind it.
Christine Bayliss, Chair, Attwood Academies Trust said: “Attwood Academies Trust is immensely proud of everything Bexhill Academy has achieved during its time with us. We are handing over a Good school in the truest sense of the word, one with excellent staff, strong values, and a real commitment to its pupils and community. The decision to join Mulberry Schools Trust was the right one, and it reflects the school’s ambition and confidence in its own future.
I am also personally delighted to be continuing as Chair of the Local Governing Body. Being asked to stay on by Mulberry Schools Trust is something I am very proud of, and it means there is a familiar and committed presence at governance level as the school moves into this exciting new chapter. The Attwood Academies Trust wish Dr Neal, his team and every young person at Mulberry Academy Bexhill the very best. The best is very much ahead of them.”
