Laurus Ryecroft
Free schools secondary school in Manchester (Tameside).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
Laurus Ryecroft is a secondary free school for 11-18 year old students in Tameside. The school is run by the Laurus Trust and was graded Outstanding by OFSTED in its first ever report. 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.
The school now has all seven year groups, this includes our academic Sixth Form . 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 . Reece was Deputy Headteacher Laurus Ryecroft before taking on the role as Head of School in January 2024.
Prior to joining Laurus Ryecroft, Reece worked at a South Manchester secondary school and has over ten years' experience in senior leadership roles. Originally from Newcastle, Reece studied History at Sunderland University and went on to achieve a Master's degree in Education at Manchester Metropolitan University.
He has also completed a National Professional Qualification in Headship and relishes the opportunity to continue building the strong community at Laurus Ryecroft.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Awards
1 awardiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Duke of EdinburghPersonal development
Key facts
- URN
- 145894
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Local authority
- Tameside
- Constituency
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2018
Governing body (8 current, 4 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.1 governor is linked to a profile (all confirmed).
Governors marked “Confirmed same person” have exactly the same forename and surname as the only officer of that name at the school’s own academy trust company on the Companies House register, so we treat them as the same person. The governance record itself comes from DfE.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Sarah Marsden | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Julie Crawford Confirmed same person Former | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by GB/board | since 2019 · term ended 2026 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Lynn Moores | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Ms Natasha Alexander | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Nicola Backhouse | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Headteacher Reece Carling | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2024 |
| Mr Aaron Lowe | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Ms Humera Rizvi | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2021 · until 2029 |
| Mr Anwar Ali | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2019 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Ms Sarah Marsden Former | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · term ended 2026 |
| Mr Lee Broadbent Former | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2024 · term ended 2026 |
| Mr Leo Casey Former | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2021 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record