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For the past three years, teachers and parents of Nouvelles Racines New Roots have been working to open a new type of school in the borough of Greenwich. Indeed it is strongly felt that there is a need for a school in our community which not only emphasises academic success and is firmly rooted in the local community, but also prepares students for the worldwide marketplace.
Now our dream looks set to be realised, thanks to the Government’s Free Schools initiative. This aims to make it possible for parents and teachers to open schools as long as they can prove there is sufficient demand.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is the aim of the new free school?
Our aim is to provide children with an education which will encourage them to become responsible citizens and will equip them with the knowledge, skills and qualifications they need to thrive in a global and competitive world.
2. What will the school offer?
First of all, it is our intention to keep the school and class sizes relatively small to encourage a sense of community where children, parents, teachers and third parties work together at providing the best education we possibly can.
In addition, our school will provide local children with an opportunity to follow a curriculum which has had a proven track record over the years aiming for pupils to study in the best universities in the UK and abroad: The International Baccalaureate Programmes. To deliver these rigorous programmes, the school will employ excellent teachers.
A unique aspect of our school is that it will focus on developing bilingualism from an early age. Students will start learning a foreign language in Primary school and will continue studying it at Secondary and Sixth form levels. They will be given the opportunity to study more foreign languages in Year 7 and Year 12 onward. The pedagogy used will ensure that our students reach a high level of proficiency in each language.
We will create a structured environment based on the highest expectations in terms of learning, achievement and behaviour.
4. Where will the school be located?
The site we will be using for our school must meet a series of criteria. Firstly, it should be located in the borough of Greenwich. It must also be large enough to accommodate students and facilities. Lastly, it will have to be accessible through public transports (DLR, train and buses). Although the site of the former Charlotte Turner school meets these criteria, we are still seeking other appropriate sites.
5. When will the school open?
In order to establish the school, we have been following the procedure designed by the Department for Education. We are adding the final details to our proposal so we can submit it to the Department for Education. We envisage to open the school in September 2011 on the proviso that we have successfully demonstrated the need for our school in Greenwich.
6. How will you select students?
We will be a non-selective non-denominational school. We will welcome children whose families understand and embrace our aims and ethos.
7. I am interested in this project. How can I get involved?
There are many ways you can support our campaign. In the first instance, we would be grateful for you to take the time to complete one of the two questionnaires below, as it will help us to gauge the demand for our proposed school and strengthen our case. We would also appreciate you talking about this project to members of your own community who could be interested.
For more information, please refer to the following sites:
Department for Education www.education.gov.uk/freeschools
International Baccalaureate www.ibo.org
We will regularly update this section. In the meantime if you have comments or questions, share them with us via our Inquiry.