WILSDEN Primary School has become part of the Focus Academy Trust.

It is among 15 schools now making-up the trust, which was founded in 2012.

John Davison, headteacher at 405-pupil Wilsden Primary, said: "We are all excited about working with the schools, staff and children within the group.

"I feel privileged to work with the community within Wilsden and to be leading the exciting developments in school.

"As a staff and governing body we are all extremely proud of our children and the school and are committed to providing the very best possible education."

Other recent recruits to the trust include Thornton Primary School in Bradford.

The organisation also runs Shibden Head Primary School in Queensbury, which joined in 2013, and schools in Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester.

Although many of the district’s secondary schools have become academies, it has only been in the past year or so that significant numbers of primaries have started joining academy chains.

Last year the Government performed a U-turn on plans for every school in the country to become an academy by 2022, but many local primary schools are either on their way to leaving local authority control, or have already joined an academy trust.

A trust spokesman said: "Thornton and Wilsden primary schools became the fourteenth and fifteenth Focus Trust academies on February 1.

"We are so pleased they have joined the trust family and look forward to working in partnership with them.

"A hub of three Bradford academies will now work very closely with each other on improving teaching, learning and assessment and improving pupil outcomes.

"This collaborative way of working and sharing effective practice is a strength of our philosophy and commitment."