Welcome to the website of the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy Trust.

Our Trust was formed in 2021 by the Headteachers and Governors of the Catholic schools of the Hertfordshire Lea Valley. I was then Headteacher of St Mary’s Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford and CEO Designate, and together we established the Trust by uniting behind the vision that we would be far stronger as a family of schools than we could ever be as separate Voluntary Aided schools.

That conviction was not ours alone: it answered the call of the Bishops of England and Wales, who have asked their Catholic schools to come together and form trusts, so that Catholic education might be strengthened and secured for the generations to come.

Our core purpose is simple and unwavering - to provide the very best Catholic education for our pupils now, and for generations to come.

We pursue it through our Trust Executive and Central Team, who support and challenge our schools to deliver ever-stronger teaching and learning, pastoral care, spiritual development and wider enrichment.

We do so in genuine partnership and co-operation with our schools, because we believe, and our experience confirms, that schools are supported best when experienced and successful educators and professionals work alongside one another, rather than at a distance.

We are blessed with an Executive and Central Team of real depth and experience: as secondary headteachers, as primary headteachers; and as highly experienced professionals in HR, finance, IT and the many other fields on which great schools depend.

Today our Trust brings together the Catholic schools of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford, Ware, Puckeridge, Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Waltham Cross. We are also entering a period of significant growth, welcoming new secondary and primary schools from beyond our original area from Autumn 2026.

Andrew Celano

Chief Executive Officer