King’s Leadership Academy Wavertree, a non-selective free school, is set to open in September following confirmation from the Department for Education that it is entering into a funding agreement.
The Secretary of State for Education has agreed that the multi-academy trust, the Great Schools Trust, can open the school with its first cohort of 210 year 7 students. The school will eventually provide 1050 places for students aged 11 to 16.
A planning application has now been submitted to Liverpool City Council by the Department for Education (DfE) for students to use modern purpose-built temporary classrooms when the school opens in September.
This is adjacent to the former office building of computer game company Sony, located on Wavertree Technology Park, where the new school will be built. It is projected that the new school building will open in 2028.
Benjamin Barker, Principal of King’s Leadership Academy Wavertree, said: “We are delighted to have the funding agreement in place. When the new building is complete, it will provide state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities and be a fantastic learning environment for our students.
“Since announcing our intention to open the co-educational King’s Wavertree, there has been strong interest and support from the local community and across the city.
“We are now focused on letting the 210 parents who have an offer of a place at the school know the good news so we can start preparing to welcome our first cohort of pioneering students in September.”
Shane Ierston, Chief Executive of the Great Schools Trust, added: “The agreement with the DfE to move forward with King’s Wavertree is a landmark day for our multi-academy trust. It also offers families of all faiths a broader choice to access high-quality secondary education for their child.
“Our trust is built on our core ASPIRE values and King’s Wavertree will have an unwavering commitment to providing every child with the tools and skills to achieve their full potential and thrive in an ever-changing world.”
King’s Wavertree is the fifth secondary school in the Great Schools Trust. In Merseyside, the Trust has two secondary schools: King’s Liverpool in Dingle and King’s Hawthornes in Bootle, rated as “Good” by Ofsted.
