St James Academy Consultation

The Governing Body of the Surrey Oak Federation, which has now become the Governing Body of St James CofE Aided Primary School, had been carefully considering the school’s future in an increasingly challenging educational landscape.

The Governors believe that the best plan moving forwards is for St James CofE Aided Primary School to become an academy and join the Good Shepherd Trust. The Governing Body accordingly applied to become an academy under the Academies Act 2010 within The Good Shepherd Trust. It is now consulting on whether the school’s conversion to academy status should take place. The information enclosed on this page is the beginning of that process: a summary of what becoming an academy means, and how to comment on the proposals.  

 The consultation period will run from Wednesday 17 September 2025 to midday Wednesday 29 October 2025.  

We invite you to attend a consultation meeting on Tuesday 23 September 2025 at 5pm OR Thursday 09 October 2025 at 9.15am in the school hall. 

The session will be an opportunity to ask questions about academy status and how this will affect the school. Representatives from the Governing Body, school leadership and the GST will be available to talk to you. You will also be able to register your comments, queries and any thoughts on opportunities or concerns.

You can find out more about the Good Shepherd Trust by following the link. The Good Shepherd Trust

You can let us know your views in the following ways:  

By completing the online response form: https://forms.office.com/e/S7FD91SixM  

The link will start accepting responses from Wednesday 29 September 2025, giving you an opportunity to find out more before replying.  

At our public meetings. 

By emailing: rdunnage@st-james-elstead.surrey.sch.uk 

 Below are the consultation documents which contain further information and FAQs.