THE Diocese of Salisbury has been selected to sponsor two schools that are set to become academies.

Whitesheet Primary School, which has sites in Kilmington and Zeals, and Southbroom Junior School near Devizes will be given academy status which will enable them to access more resources and expertise.

The Department for Education recently approved the Diocese of Salisbury as the main sponsor for school support across most of Wiltshire and Dorset.

The Diocesan Board of Education is setting up the Diocese of Salisbury Multi-Academy Trust (DSMAT), working with Cambridge Education and Mott Macdonald to support the schools it works with. Whitesheet Primary School, which is currently in special measures, will be one of the first two schools to benefit from the work of the Trust and will reopen as an academy in September.

The Bishop of Salisbury, Nicholas Holtam said: “Congratulations to everyone who has been involved in the negotiations leading to our being given permission to sponsor the first two schools as Multi Academy Trusts. I very much admire their determination and am delighted by the successful outcome. It will be good for Southbroom, for Whitesheet and for the Diocese.”

Catherine Spencer, chairman of governors for Whitesheet Primary, said: “This is such excellent news. We are hugely grateful for the immense amount of work and effort that everyone has put into this. We all look forward very much to working with the DSMAT and Cambridge Education in preparation for opening in the autumn term.”