Venturers’ Academy was Bristol’s first all-through special free school providing 84 places for students aged 4 -16. Venturers’ Academy is part of the Merchants’ Academy Trust and is sponsored by The Society of Merchant Venturers’ and The University of Bristol. Place Group was appointed to provide project management support for the pre-opening phase including advice on governance, education, finance, stakeholder consultation and the recruitment of the principal.

“Place Group kept us up to date all the time and continually held the DfE to account for key milestones. The Project Manager ensured we complied with all requirements and also ensured we were always kept up to date with progress. The Place Group team always seemed to come up with someone who could help with a specific issue. As well as the expertise, it was about resource, ensuring timetables were kept to, deadlines met. This was key in bringing everything together.” Simon Eakins, Finance Director, Merchants’ Academy Trust