Camborne school CSIA joins controversial Athena Learning Trust but does not tell parents

Pupils and parents outside of Camborne Science and International Academy in September amid anger about the enforcement of rules and the school’s plans to join a multi-academy trust.

A school in Cornwall joined a controversial academy trust weeks ago but has only just decided to tell parents. Camborne Science & International Academy (CSIA) was previously accused of ‘lying’ and being secretive about its plans to join the trust in the first place.

The secondary school had said it would consult with parents before ‘final decisions’ but a leaked letter to parents revealed in September that its trustees had already decided to join Athena Learning Trust back in May 2023. It’s now been revealed the school joined the trust on New Year’s Day, but a letter wasn’t sent out to parents until January 22 confirming the change.

Parent complaints reached a high during the return to school for the academic year in 2023 over “harsh” and “severe” rules and punishments at the school that they linked to its plans to join the Launceston-based multi-academy trust (MAT) fronted by Ben Parnell. A protest also took place during which police were called in.

At the height of the controversy, Athena Learning Trust denied the claims about CSIA joining, saying it was not part of its portfolio of schools. It also said there are no current consultations for future schools to join.

But CSIA told CornwallLive it was in fact undergoing “due diligence” with a view to joining the Athena Trust in the future but said there would be an opportunity to consult before a “final decision” was made. Parents say this never happened and a letter dated May 9, from the chair of trustees, had actually told parents trustees had already unanimously decided to join Athena. The letter said: “We look forward to working with you as we enter this new and exciting phase for the school.”

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Following a string of complaints, the school said it would be arranging a parents’ meeting where parents and carers could meet the Athena Team including the CEO and find out about Athena Learning Trust and ask questions. The meeting in question, however, was described as “the least engaging meeting” with parents saying they were unable to ask questions or voice their concerns – but now has been referred to by CSIA in its message claiming it has engaged with them.

On Monday (January 22) morning a parent pointed out that the government website now lists CSIA as being a part of Athena Learning Trust. She said she must “missed something” as she was not aware. Another said: “Shame they didn’t feel the importance of updating the parents.”

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Emma Haase, CSIA’s principal, sent out a letter later that day confirming the change. It read: “As you will know, our school has been working with Athena Learning Trust in recent months, to foster school improvement and strengthn our education provision for all our students. I am pleased to share that following a parental engagement event, we have now formally joined Athena Learning Trust, as of January 1.”

The letter said the school is committed to offering a “high-quality education” and that it is confident joining Athena will provide “the best possible educational experience”. Camborne Science & International Academy has been contacted for comment.