Hackney New School Academy Trust bids to open new primary school

Chair of governors Andreas Wesemann

The backers of Hackney New School (HNS) have announced plans to open a new primary school.

The Hackney New School Academy Trust announced last month that it is applying to the Department for Education to open a two-form entry primary school in September 2015.

The announcement came just months after the Trust’s secondary school began operating in Downham Road, De Beauvoir.

Like its secondary school counterpart, the new HNS school will be a free school – a type of state school funded by central government that can be opened by anyone.

The free school model forms part of the Conservatives’ flagship education policies – though Labour’s new shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt recently indicated he might not oppose such schools.

Andreas Wesemann, Chair of Governors at the Hackney New School Academy Trust, said: “Given the projected shortage of primary school places in London over the coming years, and the unique education model of our secondary school, it was natural to think about how a new primary school in Hackney could provide a similarly ambitious education to younger children.

“In James Clements we have found the outstanding headteacher to lead this project, and we expect strong demand from local parents to
support it.”