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Aquila is the Diocese of Canterbury’s Multi-Academy Trust, and was incorporated as a charitable company limited by guarantee in May 2014.

The trust has been imagined and planned to enable flexibility and responsiveness to local context and needs. We are reflective and forward thinking so our organisational structures will evolve as appropriate, influenced by geography, existing collaborative networks and the pace of academy conversions. We support each school as a unique community of learning.

Our Articles support a model which unleashes potential, enabling us to;

  • deliver positive, immediate support and interventions through our own expertise and capacity, as well as wider regional connections
  • enhance learning and teaching by engaging in collaborative pedagogical projects, action research and professional development with Christ Church University
  • encourage and nurture the dissemination of good practice and promote mutual accountability
  • enable focused, effective local governance and secure options for centralised functions and economies of scale
  • welcome community as well as church schools

Aquila Articles

Initially starting with just one Academy, the trust grew rapidly and we now have 16 academies across Kent. Schools have joined for a variety of reasons; some as a result of difficult Ofsted inspections while others have elected to convert having seen result of the impact of our work and our school improvement offer. Each school within the trust embodies our values and while having freedom to set their own vision and values. Our schools collaborate, sharing practice and using the expertise from across the trust to develop, refine and improve teaching and learning.

Our approach to all aspects of school improvement has continued to evolve. Everyone working in our academies strives to ensure the best possible outcomes for the children in our care within and beyond the classroom. The trust model of collaborative working to find solutions to problems covers all areas including leadership, pedagogy, behaviour, site and business management and governance. 

To find out more about each of our schools please click here:

Academy Stories

Our mission from the beginning has been to support, develop and improve. The majority of our schools that have undertaken Ofsted inspections while being members of Aquila. All schools which had been graded as inadequate (or requiring improvement) prior to the trust taking over their management are now graded good and two are outstanding. Some of these schools had never received a good or better judgement prior to them joining the trust so our record of achievement speaks for itself.

We also value achievements beyond Ofsted grades, and our news page shows the wide variety of successes and awards gained by pupils and schools.

English Hub

Kingsnorth CE Primary School is one of 34 schools nationally to be awarded Enlgish Hub status as a result of sustained high standards in phonics and early reading. The aim of the English Hubs is to promote a love of reading and Kingsnorth English Hub are supporting schools and academies across the South East to deliver and provide excellent phonics and early language teaching.

Literacy specialists within each hub provide tailored support to schools. This includes:

  • running events to showcase excellent practice in teaching phonics and reading
  • bespoke, focused support to local schools to develop their practice 

For more information, please click here:

English Hub

Latest News

By School News
Posted: 9/12/2024

Temple Ewell CEP Wins Green School Award!

Kent primary wins Green School Award for 'bug hotel'   A Kent primary school has won the prestigious Green School Award for pupils’ environmental work with their local church. Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School, part of Aquila, Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, received the award for encouraging nature to flourish in the grounds of St Peter and St Paul’s Church, near the school. Pupils at the school collected natural materials from their local area to create a ‘bug hotel’. They regularly observe and care for the insects and creatures that have made it their home. Social Enterprise Kent, which runs the Green School Award, praised the pupils’ dedication to the project. Zachary, aged 10, and Olivia, aged 11, collected the award for the school and said "We really enjoyed participating in the project as it helped us learn more about our environment and what we can do to look after it." Nicholas Robbins, a senior leader at the school who organised the project, said: “We are so proud of the children and their success in receiving this award. Together, both the church and the school have worked closely to make this possible and we look forward to even more success in the new year and beyond.” “We are very active in encouraging the children to be responsible citizens. We are near the end of a project run by Global Action Plan where children are given a voice on environmental issues. The project this year was centred around recycling and the impact litter can have on the local area. The children created sculptures using crisp packets of different animals affected by litter. In January, we will begin the Blue Influencers Scheme run by Kent Wildlife Trust.”
By Trust News
Posted: 17/07/2024

Aquila Turns 10!

Trust of 16 Kent primary schools celebrates 10 years A school trust with more than 4,000 pupils across Kent has celebrated its 10th anniversary with a service at All Saints Church in Maidstone. Since 2014, Aquila, the Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, has grown from just one primary school, Archbishop Courtenay Primary, to 16 across the county. The school trust has built up a successful reputation for rapidly improving schools, ensuring they reflect their local communities and have strong relationships with them. Two Aquila schools are in the top 1% of primary schools for their Key Stage Two results, one of which had previously been named as one of the one of the worst schools in Kent before joining the trust. The trust works closely with Canterbury Christ Church University to ensure it is informed by the latest research on what works best in the classroom. To mark Aquila’s 10th year, each of its 16 schools put forward 10 pupils to sing in a choir of 160 young voices at All Saints Church last week. Aquila’s schools’ music leaders selected the songs. Each school also produced a piece of art for the church’s gallery. The church was filled with invited guests, parents, pupils, ex-pupils and teachers joined in the celebrations, with the pupils leading the majority of the services and giving readings. The Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, blessed the congregation and all the schools. Annie Wiles, who has been Chief Executive Officer of Aquila since 2015, said she was “incredibly proud” of all the schools in the trust and “privileged to work alongside committed and inspirational staff and children”. “We have had many successes and I know the next 10 years will see many more. We are committed to ensuring our schools work together, share their strengths and provide a great education for every pupil. “Our schools design their coverage of the curriculum to provide challenging and exciting learning experiences in a caring and nurturing environment, which is based on our strong values. We want our schools to serve their unique local communities, developing links with churches, each other and wider networks enabling staff and pupils to flourish. Through developing leadership at all levels, we want the pupils in our schools to become happy, successful, well-rounded individuals who develop into lifelong learners.” Andrew Gould, one of Aquila’s trustees, said: “The children were amazing, their singing, their confident reading and their behaviour were a credit to their families, teachers and the schools.”
By School News
Posted: 15/07/2024

Sandwich Infant School Win £15,000 Competition

6 Year Old Pupil Wins £15,000 for Primary School Six year old Jemima has won £15,000 for Sandwich Infant School by winning a competition to design a school for the future. Jemima entered a national competition to come up with a design for an “exciting and creative sustainable school of the future”. In Jemima’s imaginary school of the future, the roof would double up as a classroom for outside lessons, honey and food would be grown on school grounds and pupils would each have litter-pickers and would ride bikes to create electricity. “In my imaginary school, we will learn to be kind because when you are kind, you look after the planet and try to save it,” Jemima said in her competition entry. The competition, Get Set for Positive Energy, is run by British Gas, Team GB and Paralympics GB. It was held to help young people understand the role we can all play to save energy and create a greener future. Paralympic 100m champion Thomas Young and former Team GB 100m sprinter Ashley Nelson presented Jemima with the £15,000 cheque for her school. Leanne Bennett, Headteacher of Sandwich Infant School, praised Jemima’s “incredible design” and said the school was “absolutely thrilled” to receive the funds. The school is considering spending the money on LED lighting or double glazing. “We are also thinking about which of Jemima’s ideas we can implement at Sandwich Infant School,” Ms Bennett said. Sandwich Infant School is part of Aquila, the Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust. To listen to Jemima's interview on Radio Kent click here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_kent  (10:52-10:57)
By School News
Posted: 1/07/2024

Temple Ewell Primary Pupils Win Top Engineering Prize

Kent Primary Pupils Awarded Engineering Prize Two Kent primary pupils have won a top engineering prize for inventing a remote-controlled turtle-shaped car. Barnaby Vicks, 9, and Emily Aylett, 10, from Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School in Dover, were praised by judges at the Primary Engineering Challenge this month. The engineers judging the prize gave Barnaby and Emily top marks for leading a team that designed and created the remote-controlled turtle car, which has turbo boosters and thrusters. The competition was held at Canterbury Christchurch University. Barnaby and Emily say they would like to have jobs that use creativity, technology and science when they are older. “The experience showed us what it was like to be an engineer,” Barnaby said. “Turtles are normally slow, but ours has thrusters and goes really fast,” Emily said. “We would love to make a robot next.” Rachael Williams, Science Leader at Temple Ewell, said the pupils had shown “great imagination and perseverance”. “We are incredibly proud of their achievement and excited to see what they create next,” she said. Primary Engineering works with more than 1,200 schools across the country. To listen to their interview on BBC Radio Kent, click here, and skip to 12:16.
By School News
Posted: 12/06/2024

Aquila pupil aged 11 makes five years progress in four months

A pupil at one of Aquila, the Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, schools has made an astonishing five years’ progress in his reading in just four months. Luke Rogers, 11, went from reading only 143 words per minute to a fluent 309 words per minute in only 16 weeks after his school, St Clement's Church of England Primary School in Leysdown, adopted a new approach for some pupils. The school experimented with Reading Plus, a programme that encourages healthy competition among pupils and uses AI to improve reading fluency.  The primary school already has a strong emphasis on reading, with a dedicated daily time for pupils to read each day and reading challenges and competitions over the holidays.  Kelly Lockwood, St Clement’s Headteacher, said Luke had “worked his socks off” and was “a model of persistence for his classmates”. She said the 11-year-old, whose favourite author is David Walliams, is “highly motivated, persistent and has an excellent work ethic”. She said the school had found a number of its pupils were highly motivated by the Reading Plus programme “because it seems to provide a different approach to reading, which has helped some of our more reluctant readers, as well as those who were already enjoying a good book”. “Luke really wanted to be top of the leaderboard in reading,” she said. Gemma Rogers, Luke’s mum, said her son now has “much more enthusiasm for reading, especially with the friendly competition between him and his classmates about who can read the most words”. “It has really increased his motivation and his reading ability.  We are very proud of him and his dedication to his reading," she said.
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