A MULTI-ACADEMY trust has been chosen to run the first school being built in Bicester’s eco-town.

The White Horse Federation Trust will run the eco-town primary school, which is due to open in September 2015.

The school will start off in temporary accommodation before moving to a new building, which is hoped will be complete by early 2016.

Oxfordshire County Council put the ownership out to tender, with the White Horse Federation scoring most highly among councillors.

Chief executive officer of White Horse Federation Dr Nicholas Capstick said: “We have got a proven track record. We have a little green book of eight promises – such as effective communication, loyalty, collaborative working, respect and understanding – which we live and die by.

“We recruit by them and every one of our teachers has the shared ambition and responsibility for them.

“We are seeing a change in the educational landscape of what we do and need a whole range of support mechanisms.

“We put collaboration before competition, we want to work with all schools in the area.

“I am massively excited because I think we will do a good job and take this eco-stance back to all our other schools. We are going to learn as much as we are going to give.”

Under the Government’s Academy Act introduced in 2010, councils are no longer in control of new schools – they are either free schools or academies.

The White Horse Federation Trust runs a range of schools across Swindon, Wiltshire and Gloucester – eight main stream primary schools, one special primary school, two main stream secondary schools and two special secondary schools.

Specialising in new start-ups or vulnerable schools, the federation has nine primary schools – of which Ofsted has rated six outstanding, two good – and one newly sponsored primary school, taken over after being placed into special measures.

Design for the newBicester school is under way as part of the first phase of the eco-town.

The school buildings will be completed by 2016, but it is planned to open to pupils in September this year.

It will be a two-form entry school taking on pupils aged three to 11.

There will be 420 pupils from reception to Year Six and 26 full-time nursery places.

Leader of Cherwell District Council Barry Wood said: “The important thing is that everything that is happening in NW Bicester and arguably everything happening right across Bicester has elements of new, elements of innovation and in the end a change for the better. But managing change is not necessarily straight forward. We need to have partnerships in education that can flow with and be a part of that change across the whole of Bicester. The trust fits with that model, so that is really encouraging.”

The eco-town, which was announced by the Government in 2009,will add up to 6,000 new homes to the town and possibly up to four new primary schools.