On Thursday 15 March 2018, our BBC News School reporters Kenneth and Harry, in Year 10, interviewed Headteacher Ms Henson and asked her about the Multi Academy Trust.

Cirencester Deer Park School is currently working in partnership with three Primary Schools to form a Multi Academy Trust.

What is a Multi Academy Trust? A Multi Academy Trust is group of schools working together within one larger organisation to bring about improvement.

Our headteacher said that the closer ties will also ease the transition from primary to secondary school. It is clear that she believes this is the way forward. It is an opportunity for schools to support each other, organise conferences and engage in professional discussions around teaching, learning and assessment. Furthermore, working more closely together may help financially as the economies of scale may  lead to greater discounts on resources and utilities.

We already have close relationships with local primary schools through our Sports Partnership, where our Young Leaders are positive sports' role models for the primary children and who through marshalling events also have the opportunity to improve their leadership skills. We hope to develop similar opportunities in the STEM subjects.

This is a very exciting time for Deer Park!