St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate joins Multi-Academy Trust

Announcing the move to academy status Jane O’Gara, the Chair of the governing body at St John Fisher, said, “We are delighted to be joining our fellow Catholic schools in the Bishop Wheeler Trust and we are looking forward to working closely together with them to continue providing the education our young people deserve."

St John Fisher Catholic High School serves 1420 pupils aged 11-18 and was recently graded ‘Outstanding’ at its last Ofsted inspection.

The school shares an associated sixth form with St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Harrogate, which is itself an academy within the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust.

Welcoming St John Fisher to Bishop Wheeler Trust, Diane Gaskin, the Chair of the Trust Board, said “We are so pleased that St John Fisher has chosen to become the twelfth academy in our successful and growing Catholic education partnership.

"The outstanding education that the school provides makes it a great addition to our Trust family.”

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Darren Beardsley, Chief Executive of the Trust, explained that academisation is fulfilling Bishop Marcus Stock’s vision of a ‘family of schools’ supporting each other, raising education standards further, and realising the benefits of sharing resources and expertise.

The Bishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Marcus Stock, set out his vision for the Catholic schools in his diocese in 2018 in the following words: "The strength of any family is in the quality of its relationships.

"This is evident when its members, respecting the dignity of each, work together for the good of one another and in the service of the common good.

"This too will be our strength in the years ahead if, as a diocesan family of schools, we are able to build relationships, forge solidarity and develop a collaborative framework of family groups of schools that is resilient to present and future challenges, and provides us with the confidence to take advantage of new opportunities."

Steve Mort, Head Teacher of St John Fisher, expressed his gratitude to the Trust and the Diocese of Leeds for their help throughout the process of converting to an academy.

He said: “The support we have enjoyed over the last year shows how the Trust will enable St John Fisher to continue providing an outstanding Catholic education to our children, and I am very pleased that we have already been able to begin reciprocating through our growing partnerships with the Trust’s other schools.”

For more information about St John Fisher Catholic High School, visit https://sjfchs.org.uk/

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