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MAT Tracker: mapping the country’s multi-academy trusts
Where are MATs located and how many schools do they run? Use our interactive map to find out
There are more than 1,300 multi-academy trusts in England, running nearly 11,300 academies.
But MATs are not evenly spread across the country.
While bigger trusts often operate across several regions, many others focus on particular localities.
Our interactive map shows where each MAT is headquartered, along with the number of schools it runs and its financial health:
We are updating the map regularly as part of our MAT Tracker tool.
The government’s schools White Paper set out an ambition for every school in England to be part of a “strong” academy trust.
But it will take at least another 16 years for all of England’s schools to be academies without a major new incentive or push towards full academisation, Tes analysis has shown.
Sign up to the Tes MAT Tracker newsletter to get exclusive weekly content for and about trusts delivered to your inbox.
Regional differences
London is home to the largest number of MATs, with 192 trusts headquartered there. The West Midlands has the second-largest number, at 186, while the North East has the fewest, at 73.
As can be seen in the map above, the size of MATs varies significantly, with trusts running between two and 98 schools.
The typical MAT oversees 10 schools and just over 4,000 pupils. Academies in the South West tend to belong to the largest MATs, with an average of 13 schools per trust. The South East has the smallest trusts, with six schools each, on average.
MATs in the North East, meanwhile, are most likely to operate within regional boundaries – nearly four out of five trusts there only run schools in the region (79 per cent). This compares with just 9 per cent of trusts in Yorkshire and the Humber that only operate in the region.
Financial picture
Nearly 440 MATs recorded an in-year deficit in 2024-25 – the latest year for financial data. The cumulative deficit of these trusts was £226 million.
Trusts with between 11 and 20 schools are the group most likely to be in deficit, Tes analysis of DfE data shows.
MATs with 50 or more schools are the least likely to have negative balances, though there are only seven such trusts across England.
More than half of the MATs in the South West recorded negative in-year balances in 2024-25 – the highest rate of any region.
Previous Tes analysis found that deficits in financially struggling trusts are almost 75 per cent bigger in those serving higher numbers of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs.
However, the cumulative revenue reserves of MATs across the country totalled £3.7 billion in 2024-25.
Size of MATs
MATs have been getting bigger, driven by consolidation as existing trusts have taken on more schools and absorbed smaller trusts.
There were 2,713 trusts in September 2016, but only 807 had two or more schools. Now 84 per cent of the 1,323 trusts across England have two or more academies.
The number of trusts with 11 to 20 schools has increased almost sevenfold in the past 10 years, and the number with 21 to 30 schools has grown from 11 to 48.
The largest trusts, those with 41 or more schools, have almost tripled from five to 14 in the same period.
The biggest MAT, United Learning Trust, operates 98 schools. The second largest is REAch2 Academy Trust, with 65, closely followed by Delta Academies Trust with 64.
