Stanway and Thomas Lord Audley Schools, after consultation with our stakeholders, formed a soft federation in 2007. In a soft federation the two schools retained separate governing bodies but with a joint strategy committee. The soft federation worked really well and in 2009 the two schools, after further consultation, moved on to a hard federation in which there is now a single governing body for both schools. At a joint meeting on  1st February 2010 it was agreed that the Alderman Blaxill School join the Hard Federation effective  March 15, 2010.

In the medium term the federation of three schools will be fully occupied managing the changes brought about by the Local Authority's plans for the future of secondary education in Colchester. Those plans require the closure of Thomas Lord Audley and Alderman Blaxill leaving a single school with 11 forms of entry,  1520 students. The Local Authority's plans are based on securing "Building Schools for the Future" funding of some £130 million with investments spread over half Colchester secondary schools, with completion in September 2014.

In the longer term we expect government policy to continue to favour collaborative arrangements and will be open to opportunities for expansion.

In our experience it is efficiencies in staffing that generate the principle benefits of federation; deployment, career progression, succession planning, training and development. 
 
The Local Authority proposes that Stanway expand on to the site of the Heath School on the other side of Winstree Road but we have asked them to consider our preferred solution - to expand on to the Thomas Lord Audley site at a considerable saving in capital cost, avoidance of  student crossings of the Winstree Road and a significant reduction in traffic congestion.