RUFFORD Primary School is to become part of the Invictus Education Trust later this year.

The primary school, located in Bredon Avenue, will officially join the trust on September 1 but collaboration will get underway immediately to ensure a smooth transition.

Rufford is the first primary school to join the trust which also includes Crestwood School and Sixth Form, Ellowes Hall, Kinver High School, Leasowes High School, Pedmore High School, Wombourne High School and the Invictus Sixth Form.

Alice Middleton, headteacher at Rufford Primary, said: “I am so pleased for everyone at Rufford that we are about to join Invictus Education Trust. There will be great opportunities for our children, and the wider benefits that will come to the local community are very exciting.

"It will be a privilege to work more closely with the team at Invictus to strengthen what we offer, and to plan how our staff and resources will benefit older students from the trust.

"The journey is just beginning, and there is a lot of hard work to be done but together we are stronger and the children's future will be all the brighter."

Tony Bowles, Invictus Education Trust chief executive officer, said he was "overjoyed" to share the news and he added: “We have been working with Alice and the school governing body on this project for a few months.

"From our very first meeting I knew Rufford would be a perfect fit within our trust, and the perfect choice to become our first primary school.

"We are a values driven trust which means our seven values guide everything that we do, in our many meetings and visits to the school it was obvious to us that Rufford’s students, staff and communities share similar values.

"Although, we feel there is so much that we can offer to Rufford, in terms of opportunities and experiences thanks to our vast resources, there will be so much that we will learn from them in our partnership, particularly as we are keen to expand our primary school partnerships.”