Teacher’s plans for free school win support from Government

The King’s Science Academy is one of six projects across the country which have had their business cases approved, the Department for Education (DfE) revealed yesterday.

Batley Grammar’s proposed switch from the private sector to become a state-funded free school has also been backed, as the Yorkshire Post reported on Saturday. The two schools in West Yorkshire are expected to be among the first wave opening this September. Free schools are a flagship policy of the coalition Government which is encouraging parents and teachers to apply to set up their own state-funded primaries and secondaries whenever they are unhappy with the choice on offer from their local council.

There have been 323 proposals received by the Department for Education including more than 30 from Yorkshire. So far only seven across the country have had their business cases approved, including the six which were confirmed yesterday by the DfE.

The King’s Science Academy is a plan to create a secondary school in the Lidget Green area of Bradford where a shortage of school places exists. However, Bradford Council has voiced concern over the impact opening the school this September will have as it has still not been able to offer any places to pupils – a month after the rest of the city’s secondary school places have been allocated.

Education bosses fear scores of pupils who are applying to the free school will soon be withdrawn from existing council secondary schools where they have already received a place. Coun Ralph Berry, the executive member responsible for schools said Bradford Council was still waiting to hear when the King’s Science Academy would allocate places to around 140 11-year-olds.

Although King’s has had its business case approved by the DfE it cannot formally offer places until a funding agreement is reached.

The Yorkshire Post has previously revealed that council bosses expected the school to get the go-ahead from Ministers with around £10m funding. Free schools will operate in the same way as academies, independent of local council control with funding direct from central Government and the freedom to set their own admissions, employment and timetable arrangements.

The King’s Science Academy is using a “fair banding” system where all applicants sit tests and then an equal amount of children are taken on from various ability levels. Around 75 per cent of pupils will be taken from Lidget Green and another 25 per cent of places will be awarded to pupils across a wider area of Bradford.

King’s has been led by teacher Sajid Hussain, who is Bradford-born and who currently works at an academy in the city.

The Yorkshire Post was unable to contact Mr Hussain yesterday

He has previously said that he is part of a group of eight teachers behind the King’s Science plan who each have experience of delivering improvements at schools in deprived areas and those facing the greatest challenge.

According to the school’s website King’s motto will be “Character and Knowledge” and pupils will be taught that “the development of good character, organisation and manners are just as important as achieving academic success.”

The school also plans to use mentors to offer support to pupils to help them achieve “both their educational and career goals”.

So far 30 community mentors from a range of professions including medicine, pharmacy, architecture, technology and engineering have committed themselves to support students from King’s according to the school’s website.

A core curriculum will be used to ensure pupils develop competent skills in English and Maths at 14-years-old before moving onto a broader set of subjects.