Trust secures new CEO as founding chief retires

The founding chief executive of a prominent 17-school MAT is set to retire, with his replacement already secured.

Dean Ashton will hand over the reins of Reach South Academy Trust to Tom Leverage, currently the CEO of Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy Trust, in September.

The trust said Ashton has overseen “significant growth and improvement” across his schools over his nine-year tenure.

Marcus Agius, Reach South’s chair, said: “Dean Ashton’s leadership has had a profound impact on the life chances of thousands of young people.

“The progress our schools have made — from falling results to national excellence, from special measures to specialist recognition — is nothing short of transformational.”

Ashton has led Reach South since its inception in 2016.

In 2017, the year most of the chain’s primaries joined, just 46 per cent of pupils achieved expected standards at the end of Key Stage 2. The figure now stands at 64 per cent.

Ashton said: “For us, social mobility means putting schools at the heart of thriving communities. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved — and I am confident Reach South will continue to grow under Tom’s leadership.”

Rising to Labour’s ‘inclusion challenge’

Schools Week revealed last summer how one of the trust’s academies, the Parkfield School in Bournemouth, is set to close due to “unsustainable” pupil numbers, after waiting years to move into its £35 million permanent home.

Leverage joins from Our Lady of the Magnificat, a trust running 19 schools spread across Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Reach South said he has taught in, and led as deputy head, headteacher and executive leader, in “a number of high-performing state and independent schools”.

This includes overseeing the “improvement journey for schools that have been judged as inadequate by Ofsted”. He has held leadership roles in four trusts and is an accredited National Leader of Education.

Leverage also sits on the Department for Education’s advisory board for the west Midlands.

He said: “We will rise to the challenge outlined by the new government and continue to develop Reach South as a national example of best practice for inclusion in UK education.

“Through a relentless focus on improvement, we are committed to ensuring our workforce reflects the communities we serve and provides an exceptional education across our academies.”