St Helen’s Primary School officially joins Meridian Trust

St Helen’s Primary School in Bluntisham has officially joined Meridian Trust, marking an exciting new chapter for the school.

Located in the heart of the Cambridgeshire village, St Helen's is committed to providing high-quality education while maintaining its strong community focus. It now joins Meridian Trust, a nationally respected multi-academy trust overseeing schools across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, and Northamptonshire.

The school retains its name, unique identity, uniform, and ethos, while benefiting from strengthened leadership, access to Meridian Trust’s extensive network of teaching expertise, and further opportunities for staff development and collaboration.

Following a careful exploration of potential partners by the governing body and a very positive community consultation, the school's leadership transition also marks the arrival of Mr Dan Ainscow as Headteacher from September 2026. Bringing over 25 years of experience in education, Dan recently jointly led St Neots-based Crosshall Junior School through a similar transition following its joining of Meridian Trust in 2025.

Headteacher Dan Ainscow said: "I have been delighted to join St Helen’s and become part of this wonderful community. It is a real privilege to step into this role following such a positive community consultation, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with pupils, staff, and families to build on the fantastic foundations already in place as we join the rest of the Meridian Trust community."

Lesley Birch, Deputy CEO of Meridian Trust, commented: "A very warm welcome to the pupils, staff, and families from St Helen’s Primary School to the Meridian Trust family. There is a strong alignment between our values, our shared beliefs about education, and our shared focus on improving children’s lives, and we are excited to work together to help every pupil flourish."

Mark Woods, CEO of Meridian Trust, added: "Having worked closely with schools across this region, I know just how vital a strong village primary is to its local area. Bringing St Helen’s into our Trust family opens up fantastic opportunities for staff to share best practice and collaborate across our wider network, strengthening education from early years through to secondary level."

As part of this transition, the school will also strengthen its local educational pathway. Many of its Year 6 pupils traditionally transition to Abbey College in nearby Ramsey, which itself joined Meridian Trust earlier this year, creating an even more joined-up educational journey for local children within this expanding Trust family.