Star Academies CEO knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours list

The trust runs the award-winning Tauheedul girls and boys schools in Blackburn among others.

Sir Hamid Patel has led Star Academies since its inception in 2010. In the most recent performance tables published by the Government (2019), Star Academies was the highest-performing multi-academy trust in England and its schools secured first, second and third places in the national rankings, with five in total in the top 15.

Mufti Hamid said: “This is a tribute for all those who have worked so hard at Star Academies whose care, diligence and passion continue to inspire young people and nurture tomorrow’s leaders.

"All those involved with our schools at every level - our talented teachers, and our supportive parents, governors and wider community - have made a telling contribution to the positive impact we have had on the lives of so many children and young people.

Prior to his role at Star Academies, Sir Hamid was the director of strategy, change and external Relations at Bradford College.

He said: “This is a tribute for all those who have worked so hard at Star Academies whose care, diligence and passion continue to inspire young people and nurture tomorrow’s leaders.

"All those involved with our schools at every level - our talented teachers, and our supportive parents, governors and wider community - have made a telling contribution to the positive impact we have had on the lives of so many children and young people.

“The last 16 months have arguably been the hardest that any of us working in education have experienced but we, like those across the sector, have continued to put our pupils first, prioritising their wellbeing and giving them the best academic, extra-curricular and social opportunities.”

Star Academies is an academy trust of 30 primary and secondary schools across the country - in Greater Manchester, London, Lancashire, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire. It has also established Star Institute - and three of its schools have been designated by the Department for Education as Teaching School Hubs - to train and support new teachers and the continuing professional and personal development of those working in education.

During the pandemic, Star Academies established StarLine, a free national parent helpline backed by more than 20 expert partners, to support families with home-schooling, their wellbeing and other pressures related to the pandemic. The helpline reached 1.5 million parents while it was open.

The Trust established Star Family Hubs in 13 towns and cities to support its pupils and their families and its schools’ wider communities during the pandemic. Star used school kitchens to cook 100,000 hot meals for hungry neighbours and homeless people, as well as providing 7,500 families with weekly food parcels.

It also sourced and distributed 10,000 hygiene packs and 13,500 items of PPE for key workers. Last year, the trust also published a toolkit to help schools re-open safely and in line with Government guidance following the end of the first national lockdown. The document was downloaded more than 30,000 times.

In recognition of his services to education, Hamid was awarded a CBE in 2015.

Kam Kothia DL, Chair of Star Academies, said: “On behalf of the Star family, we are extremely proud of (Mufti) Hamid and congratulate him on his well-deserved knighthood.

"This prestigious honour is testimony to his dedicated leadership, selfless service and unfailing commitment to improving outcomes for our young people across the country. It is also an affirmation of the excellent work that is continually undertaken across Star schools nationally and within the central team.

“We know that this recognition does not signal the completion of Star’s work. It will redouble our mission to nurture today’s young people and inspire tomorrow’s leaders.”