January Education News

Listed building to be free school

Wandsworth’s derelict Bolingbroke Hospital is set to become the areas first ‘free school,’ after the planning application has been approved. Bolingbroke Academy will open in September 2012 and will provide places for 800 pupils. The Grade II listed building will be converted to create a modern teaching environment, but heritage features will be sensitively preserved, with the external façade cleaned and restored.

Wimbledon school hosts top quiz

King’s College School, Wimbledon hosted the London Regional Heat for the Kids’ Lit Quiz in November. The quiz is an annual event for students aged 11-13 years. Teams of four students from Years 6, 7 and 8 are asked to answer 100 questions on children’s literature divided into ten categories. The winning team from each region competes in the National Final which this year will be at Warwick University. The overall winning team will be invited to compete in the final which this year will be in Auckland New Zealand. Teams from many parts of the world will enter this. As well as the 13 schools taking part in the heat King’s College also had a team of authors who competed in a fun way against the children. The authors were Damian Dibben, Ian Beck, Karen Mahoney and Lindsey Barraclough (who has just been long listed for the Carnegie Award).

New free school in Tooting

The Michaela Community School, which has already been approved by the Department for Education, is due to open next September and will admit 120 pupils each year. The school will offer its pupils a “distinctive” education based on a traditional ethos. It will provide a “knowledge-rich curriculum, prioritising academic subjects, and it will instil self-discipline and a strong work ethic in pupils”. According to its business plan, it will also “set high expectations and encourage competition and a sense of responsibility amongst pupils, staff and parents. It will also address issues that often hold back inner-city youth and give them personalised and specialist support. Some residents are concerned that there are still free places in the existing schools.