Hackney free school plan moves to next stage

Driving force: free school proponent Andreas Wesemann

The controversial Hackney New School has passed the first stage of an application process run by the Department for Education (DfE).

The school will now progress to the second round where the DfE will interview a team of Hackney residents, parents and education experts. If approved, Hackney New School will open in September 2013.

The plans, drawn up by Andreas Wesemann and the steering committee of the Hackney New School (HNS), were submitted on February 23 with 502 parents’ signatures. Around 330 groups across the country put applications forward to open schools in 2013 with an estimated third making it through to the interview stage.

Wesemann said: “Many parents feel that, while there are now three [Ofsted-rated] outstanding secondary schools in Hackney, there is room for a school that is a bit smaller, is focused on the development of the individual through music, sports and debating, and in which the parents can have more involvement and influence.”

Critics of the free school concept believe that this new type of educational establishment, free of local authority control, will undermine the education system by breaking the links of local democratic accountability and opening the way for privatisation.

Free schools are non-profit making, independent, central government-funded state schools that can be opened by anyone after passing the application process. Once passed, they are given more freedom than state schools to set their curriculum, teacher pay and timetable. For example, teachers in free schools do not necessarily need to have Qualified Teacher Status.

The HNS committee is in the process of reviewing a number of potential sites for the school, but is aiming to situate the school in one of Hackney’s more deprived areas.

If approved, the Hackney New School will be a mixed, non-denominational school for children aged 11 to 19, with a strong focus on music.

A spokesperson for the school said: “The aim is to provide students with an excellent education in the foundation subjects but, with a longer school day, also to encourage them to participate in debates, to read widely and to develop an interest in the history of science or political thinking. They will also all get the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and take a GCSE in music.”

Visit Hackney New School for more information.