CALNE’S John Bentley School has looked to the future and signed up to join the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust, changing its name and creating a new uniform.

The decision to join the group was led by headteacher Jason Tudor who became the principal in 2015 and has driven changes to the school including its new name which comes into effect in September.

Mr Tudor said they made a short list of trusts choosing the Wootton Bassett one as the school there was "the best fit."

He said: " Royal Wootton Bassett Academy is the only school within our immediate locality that has been judged as outstanding, and the school is also closely aligned to our own values. By sharing areas of good practice as part of the Royal Wootton Bassett Multi Academy Trust, we will be able to serve our community far more effectively.”

Mr Tudor also defended the change of name and uniform. He said: "If it were a case of just changing the name and uniform, there would be no impact at all. However, it’s far more than that.

"We are marking this new chapter in our school’s story with a new name and uniform, and involved our stakeholders closely in that decision, but we are also changing everything else.

"For example, as part of this network we will have access to the world-class OLEVI teaching, learning and leadership programmes that will enable excellent teachers to spread their knowledge and skills to colleagues and improve outcomes for students.

"We have also changed the behaviour policy, which is the one all three schools in the Royal Wootton Bassett Multi Academy Trust use, so that behaviour is already much improved.”

The school’s 2018 exam results in English and Maths at GCSE rose above the average for both Wiltshire and England and also moved up from 32nd to 8th best in the Wiltshire for its GCSE results with a high number of A level students entering universities.