It’s all change at Weymouth’s schools as two are set to be adopted by a Dorset-based academy chain in less than two months’ time.

All Saints Church of England School and Wey Valley School will join Ambitions Academies Trust on June 1 this year.

Both schools were told they needed to improve in their latest Ofsted inspections which saw All Saints rated as ‘inadequate’ and placed into special measures and Wey Valley listed as ‘requires improvement’.

A damning report following a full inspection of All Saints in May 2018 said dysfunctional leadership had contributed to a decline in standards at the school. Since then, inspectors have monitored the school’s progress, reporting in January that leaders and managers were taking effective action towards the removal of special measures.

Wey Valley, currently a co-operative academy, has had a ‘requires improvement’ rating since its first inspection after academisation in 2012. Its latest full inspection took place in September 2016.

In January this year, Wey Valley School announced its intentions to become part of a local academy trust in a bid to tackle the “challenging situation” facing the town’s secondary schools, and announced the departure of former principal Sara Adams following a leave of absence.

Wey Valley and All Saints are currently under the leadership of interim principals.

In a letter sent to parents, Brian Boyes, acting headteacher at All Saints School, said he would step down from the position at Easter after accepting a director position in a multi-academy trust.

He said: “As I reflect on the last year, there have been some significant challenges but there have also been huge successes. The recent Ofsted monitoring inspection has brought a confidence back to the school and recognises the hard work of both staff and pupils.”

The Diocese of Salisbury and Ambition Academies Trust announced on April 3 that they have appointed John Cornish as the new principal of All Saints, from June 1. Interim principal Rob Russell will lead the school between that date and the end of the Easter break.

Poole-based Ambitions Academies Trust currently runs eleven schools across Bournemouth and Poole, which include special, primary and secondary levels of education together with nursery and wrap around care

Sian Thomas, CEO of Ambitions Academies Trust, said: "The trust has a strong track record of supporting schools and enabling them to achieve an outstanding quality of education, but keeping their individual identity.

"We are incredibly excited about working with both schools in Weymouth and are confident that both All Saints and Wey Valley will follow the same trajectory as other schools in the trust; ensuring that the Weymouth community has the choice of two Ambitions schools that provide the outstanding quality of education that is so important to us."