Welcoming Hawthorns Primary School
We are delighted to welcome the ninth school to our Trust! Our newest addition is Hawthorns Primary School which is based in Durrington, Worthing and supports 150 pupils and 27 staff.
After first getting in touch in 2020, Hawthorns chose to work with us as an Associate Member in 2022, to gain an understanding of the benefits of being part of a multi-academy trust. Our Associate Membership scheme offers single academies and maintained schools the opportunity to join us for a term to explore what life is like as part of a MAT. A consultation with Hawthorn’s staff, governors and families then followed before the conversion process began last year.
Cathy Williams, our CEO: “We are delighted to be welcoming the Hawthorns community to our family of schools, especially after such a long relationship with the team as they explored their options for academisation. It’s also wonderful to be welcoming back Wendy Lawson as one of our Heads after she first worked with us when she was on secondment as a temporary headteacher at Downsbrook before they joined Schoolsworks.”
Wendy Lawson, Headteacher at Hawthorns Primary School: “It’s hugely exciting to be joining such a great group of people. Behind the scenes our team has enjoyed getting involved with various partnerships across Schoolsworks, enabling our staff to work together with their new extended network of colleagues to strengthen, develop and share best practice for the benefit of our children. We are very much looking forward to our future as a member of the Schoolsworks family.”
Hawthorns Primary School converted to an academy and joined Schoolsworks on 1st February 2024. As part of the conversion Hawthorns has been able to extend its Early Years provision with Little Owls Nursery and the Primary School becoming a single organisation for pupils aged between 2 and 11 years old.
Left to right: Wendy Lawson, Headteacher at Hawthorns with Cathy Williams, CEO of Schoolsworks Academy Trust, Karen Ashworth, Chair of the School Community Council and Norman Rose, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Schoolsworks
Our Schools on the map