Laurus Ryecroft is a secondary free school for 11-18 year old students in Tameside. The school is run by the Laurus Trust and replicates the outstanding education offered by the Trust’s founder school, Cheadle Hulme High School (CHHS). CHHS is a hugely oversubscribed school and was recently listed in the Sunday Times ‘Parent Power’ Top 25 comprehensive schools in the country.
Laurus Ryecroft is a non-selective, non-denominational free school. It opened in September 2018, initially providing 150 Year 7 places in six form groups with 25 students in each. From 2020, a further eight Year 7 form groups will be added each academic year. In addition to this, the school will have a Sixth Form of 300 students.
In May 2020, we moved into our permanent school building which provides state-of-the-art facilities and modern bright learning spaces.
You can discover more about our curriculum here.
Proposed location of Laurus Ryecroft
Martin Vevers
Head of School, Laurus Ryecroft
Martin was a Deputy Headteacher at Cheadle Hulme High School for six years. He is a Specialist Leader of Education and committed to providing the very best education for his students. He was delighted to become the founding Head of School for Laurus Ryecroft.
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Martin has worked in a variety of contexts and previously worked in inner city Manchester before joining CHHS in September 2005. He has always been focused on effective teaching and learning and the improvement of classroom practice. In 2008 Martin was awarded Secondary Teacher of the Year in the North West. Martin has had 16 years teaching experience, with nine years as a member of a Leadership team.
As an SLE Martin has had considerable experience of working and supporting underperforming schools. He has successfully gained his National Professional Qualification for Headship and is currently completing his Masters degree in Education.
Martin is married and has two daughters.
CEO of Laurus Trust and Executive Headteacher of Cheadle Hulme High School and Laurus Ryecroft
With a career in education spanning more than 35 years, Linda has been Headteacher at Cheadle Hulme High School for 14 years, overseeing two successive outstanding Ofsted judgements. She is also an experienced National Leader of Education and an Ofsted Inspector.
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CHHS is a high performing school – in the top 2% of all schools in the country based on the 2018 examination results. In both the 2011 and 2015 Ofsted Inspections, CHHS was judged to be Outstanding in all categories.
Prior to Linda’s move to CHHS, she spent 11 years as a Senior Leader in a variety of contexts, across six different schools in six Local Authorities.
In 2016, Linda was appointed Executive Head of CHHS, Laurus Cheadle Hulme, Laurus Ryecroft and Didsbury High School. and CEO of The Laurus Trust.
Linda holds National Leader of Education status and has extensive experience of effectively supporting schools in challenging circumstances. She was appointed as an Ofsted Inspector in 2013.
As a mother of four, Linda also has a strong personal grasp of the challenges facing students and their families in the current educational climate.