About Us
Rooted in Bradford, working across West Yorkshire. Together we Exceed.
Exceed Academies Trust is a family of schools united by a clear purpose: to improve life chances for every child. We serve diverse communities, many of which face significant social and economic challenge. We are proud of our strong Bradford foundation and are continuing to grow carefully across the region, working with schools where partnership will make the greatest difference.
Our schools are inclusive, ambitious and community-focused. We combine high expectations with strong support, ensuring that every child receives a high-quality education and the opportunity to succeed. We work together as a Trust to strengthen our schools — developing leadership, building capacity and ensuring that improvement is sustained over time.
We have a strong track record of improving schools at every stage of their journey. Through a clear and structured approach — stabilise, repair, improve and sustain — we work together as a Trust to strengthen our schools; developing leadership, building capacity and ensuring that improvement is sustained over time.
Our schools secure strong and improving outcomes, with a clear focus on sustaining high-quality education over time, including for pupils in communities facing significant disadvantage. We are proud that a number of our schools have achieved recognition both locally and nationally, while others are being supported to rapidly improve and reach their full potential.
A Trust that develops people and strengthens schools
We are committed to developing exceptional teachers and leaders at every stage of their career. As a system leader, Exceed Academies Trust:
- Leads the Exceed Teaching School Hub, supporting schools across Bradford and beyond
- Delivers initial teacher training through Exceed SCITT, rated Outstanding by Ofsted
- Operates as an approved Apprenticeship Training Provider
- Provides high-quality professional development from early career through to executive leadership
This work ensures we not only improve our own schools, but contribute to system-wide improvement across the region.
Innovation and sector leadership
We are ambitious for the future of education and are recognised for our innovative approach. This includes our sector-leading work on the use of artificial intelligence to support teaching, learning and reduce workload, recently recognised through the Bronze AI Quality Mark.
We are also proud that Oastlers School has been judged exceptional in every area by Ofsted, reflecting our strength in inclusive and specialist provision.
A Partnership built on values
Our work is underpinned by a clear moral purpose: improving life chances for children and young people, particularly those who need us most.
Our values — Inspire, Care, Excel — guide everything we do:
- Inspire ambition and possibility
- Care deeply about our people and communities
- Excel through high standards and continuous improvement
An Employer of Choice
We know that great schools are built by great people. We are proud to be recognised as an Employer of Choice, including through the Valued Worker Scheme Employer’s Mark, awarded in recognition of our commitment to fairness, dignity and staff wellbeing.
We invest heavily in professional development, wellbeing and career progression, ensuring that our staff are supported to thrive and grow within the Trust.
Find out more:
