"Their results are a massive improvement on last year; they are the product of the Trust’s investment in high quality teaching and learning in all subject areas. It is great news for our staff, too, and I want to send a big ‘thank you’ to all of them.

Our learners have now made improved progress in real terms for three years running. We are confident that in 2022, all four academies will go on to meet or exceed the national average for achieving Grade 5 or above in English and Mathematics. This represents a significant improvement from 2017 when the Trust was established and these achievements are in line with the targets set in the Trust’s strategic plan. We can now say to parents that if their children come to one of our academies, they will have every opportunity to excel.”

There is bound to be talk about grade inflation this year, but our exam marking was rigorously checked by outside experts and validated by the exam boards. All of the grades our learners achieved are the grades they deserved and the improvements shown by our academies are all real improvements.

If schools league tables were being published for 2021, I am sure that our academies would have moved up significantly.”