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ARTICLE · 24 SEPTEMBER 2025

MAT Mergers: A Guide For Academy Trust Leaders And Trustees

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While Labour hasn't said a great deal about academisation generally, school leaders will have seen recent press coverage relating to some large multi-academy trust (MATs) merging.

United KingdomConsumer Protection
Lydia Michaelson-Yeates
Lydia Michaelson-Yeates

While Labour hasn't said a great deal about academisation generally, school leaders will have seen recent press coverage relating to some large multi-academy trust (MATs) merging.

The mergers of Reach South/Transforming Futures, Futura Learning Partnership/Olympus Academy Trust and Compass Partnership of Schools/Eko Trust reported during the summer are all positive news stories in terms of growth. These mergers will create significant organisations in terms of pupil numbers, staffing and turnover.

These are the latest in a string of the Department for Education (DfE) approvals for mergers and it's noteworthy to mark the sector's appetite to create larger MATs, given there has been little pressure from Labour and the DfE. This perhaps is a clear indication of system leadership and the sector itself leading the direction of travel.

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