Virginia Primary School in Bethnal Green set to become an academy
Virginia Primary School is set to become an academy by the end of the month, which will make it the fifth primary academy in Tower Hamlets.
An ‘Outstanding’ Bethnal Green primary school on Virginia Road is set to become an academy and will join a local trust that already runs several primaries across Tower Hamlets.
Virginia Primary School has applied to join the LETTA (London East Teacher Training Alliance) Trust, a multi-academy trust founded on 1 July 2017.
The 236-space primary school has already had its application approved by the Secretary of State for Education, and an Academy Order was issued in February of this year, which will start the process for it to become an academy.
As the Academy Order has now been issued, Tower Hamlets Council has a statutory duty to facilitate the conversion of the school into an academy by 1 July 2025.
Tower Hamlets Council’s cabinet members are set to agree on a report documenting the plans at a meeting next week (18 June) to allow for the next stage of the transfer process to begin.
Once Virginia Primary becomes an academy under the Academies Act 2010, the school will no longer be maintained and funded through the council.
The Council is also expected to transfer the land the school sits on to the trust and will grant a new, 125-year lease, which will have a peppercorn rent.
Virginia Primary has an Outstanding Ofsted rating following visits in March 2016 and October 2021.
During its most recent inspection, staff were praised for showing great care towards pupils and ensuring they understand how to keep safe.
Inspectors said parents and carers were appreciative of the ‘many’ clubs, residential trips and sporting activities for their children.
The school will follow Columbia Primary School in Bethnal Green and Hermitage Primary School in Wapping, after they recently joined the Trust in September 2024.
Other Tower Hamlets-based primaries that are also part of the LETTA Trust include Bygrove Primary School in Canary Wharf and Stebon Primary School in Poplar.
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