SKIPTON Academy is facing a 'watershed moment' after joining forces with Ilkley Grammar School.

The school - which has around 300 pupils - has joined the Ofsted rated 'outstanding' Ilkley school, which has more than 1,700 pupils, as part of the Moorlands Learning Trust.

Richard McManus, principal of The Skipton Academy, said it meant greater opportunities for Academy pupils and for the first time, gave them a clear pathway to study A Levels at Ilkley Grammar.

Helen Williams, chief executive of the Moorlands Learning Trust and Ilkley Grammar head teacher, said the trust would work tirelessly to make Skipton Academy the comprehensive school of choice for Skipton parents.

Mr McManus said the last year has been one of the most successful in the life of the school, which became an academy in 2014, and he invited people to make an appointment to come into the school and find out for themselves.

“The next stage of our journey with Moorlands Leaning Trust will prove to be a watershed moment for the academy, creating opportunities for learners to be inspired and reach their full potential," he said.

"We as an academy will remain committed to continuous improvement and I would invite anybody from the local community to come and see us in action and witness first hand the improvements already underway.

"We will go from strength to strength with the support of Moorlands Learning Trust and both myself and my team of committed staff welcome their support."

The two schools have been working together for some time and have now formalised the relationship with the academy joining the multi-academy trust.

Mr McManus said joining forces with Ilkley Grammar gave the academy the chance to increase the pace of improvement even faster than it could ever hope.

"Our staff have support from colleagues who share our ethos and belief that the students at The Skipton Academy deserve an outstanding education and for the first time ever students also have the opportunity to have an academic pathway to A level study at Ilkley Grammar School as our partner," he said.

"This new dawn for The Skipton Academy is the first step in what is a bright future securing quality comprehensive, mixed education for the young people of Skipton."

Ms Williams said: "Everyone at the trust is delighted that The Skipton Academy has become the first formal partner for Ilkley Grammar School in our trust and we are already well underway with our plans to expand our support for the academy so that their improvement journey continues at pace.

"Ensuring that all students and parents have a choice of first class education providers directly in the Skipton community is now our key priority and I look forward to working even more closely with Mr McManus and his team over the coming weeks and months to build on their recent successes to rapidly bring about the further improvements needed.

"Using the full capacity of the trust and expertise that exists at Ilkley Grammar School, we will work tirelessly to ensure that The Skipton Academy can soon become the comprehensive school of choice for Skipton parents."

Mr McManus said the academy would as part of the trust continue to provide its staff with the chance to improve and to challenge themselves.

"As part of the trust we will continue to be a proud part of the Skipton educational community and will continue to develop even closer links with our primary school colleagues to ensure that we play a full role in ensuring that all children in Skipton receive the best possible educational experience," he said.

He said he and his team were now drawing up plans to improve the academy from further developing the curriculum to catering and the fabric of the buildings.

" All of these areas will directly benefit our students and their future outcomes and destinations and having been able to have secured this is a massive step forward for the academy," he added.