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Shaftesbury Park primary school in Battersea goes bilingual

By akadri at 13:56 on 17/12/11

Shaftesbury Park is to become the borough's third bilingual school. The Battersea primary school is joining Wix and Putney's Hotham School in introducing a French bilingual stream. Wandsworth has pioneered the introduction of bilingual schools as a means of maintaining high academic standards and giving younger children the chance to learn a language. Shaftesbury Park will start its first bilingual class in September...
Work begins on Wandsworth's first free school the Bolingbroke Academy on old hospital site

By akadri at 12:57 on 09/12/11

Work has now begun transforming the disused Bolingbroke Hospital into Wandsworth's first free school. It will open its doors in September next year when the first 120 year seven children will be admitted. The school roll will grow by 120 pupils each year until it reaches its full capacity in 2018. Supporters of the school argue this part of south Battersea has a high proportion of young families but does not currently...
Schools closed in Battersea and Wandsworth because of public sector strike

By akadri at 16:07 on 29/11/11

Nearly half of schools in Wandsworth are closed tomorrow because of planned industrial by teaching unions. The latest figures show that 41 of the borough's 80 schools will either be fully open or partially open. The remaining 39 will be closed. Many parents will have already been informed what is happening at their child's school tomorrow giving them time to plan ahead. Parents who have not previously been informed by...
Services for children in Wandsworth – big changes ahead

By akadri at 16:45 on 16/11/11

New school buildings and bigger youth centres are planned for Wandsworth's children's services. The changes relevant to Battersea below are in bold. The changes are designed in part to minimise the impact of reduced spending next year, as a result of the council's overall £30 million budget squeeze. The proposals for children's services for next year and beyond were approved by councillors earlier this week. New school...
Planning application approved for Bolingbroke Academy free school

By akadri at 16:24 on 13/10/11

A planning application to covert the disused Bolingbroke Hospital into Wandsworth's first free school, the Bolingbroke Academy, has been given the go ahead. 800 pupils aged between 11 and 19 will eventually attend the school - the first year seven children will start there next September. The school will grow by 120 each year until it reaches full capacity in 2018. It will be funded by the government and free to attend, with ARK...

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Struggling Battersea school St Mary's Primary comes under scrutiny by the Evening Standard

By akadri

Thanks for your comment. Where did you get this quote from?

By akadri at 14:14 on 23/11/11

Have you seen the Evening Standard's campaign to help St Mary's Primary School in Battersea? The newspaper wants to support the new head teacher Jared Brading in turning the school around after it's been revealed half the school is failing to reach the expected standards. Billionaire Kostyntin Zhevago, the Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange, has donated £100, 000 to the newspaper to train volunteers who will read...
The latest on the Bolingbroke Academy and Falconbrook saga

By akadri

Here's some more detail for you: http://tinyurl.com/66zfuv2

By akadri at 20:38 on 09/03/11

Falconbrook Primary School will become a feeder school for the Bolingbroke Academy following controversy that its pupils would be excluded from attending this free school. Falconbrook is a council estate primary with a significant number of children from less well off backgrounds – and when it was announced it wouldn't be a feeder school, there was outrage, stemming from concerns that it created a class divide in...
INTERVIEW WITH JON DE MARIA OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SCHOOL CAMPAIGN FOR WANDSWORTH

By KPJimbob

I'm curious about this Falconbrook School business.Why aren't they being included as a feeder...

By akadri at 14:05 on 22/10/10

Jon De Maria is a co founder of the Neighbourhood School Campaign (NSC) for Wandsworth. The NSC is aiming to establish a secular, non-selective school where the disused Bolingbroke Hospital stands. 3,000 people including various politicians have shown their support for the project. However, there has been a lot of opposition to it too - perhaps this interview with Mr De Maria will help you make up your mind over whether you think there...
Education union urges Lib Dems to act against 'bankers free school' in Battersea

By deborahsouth

feeder schools are a kind of admissions policy to be used if the school is over subscribed (that is...

By akadri at 17:36 on 19/12/10

Education union GMB is urging the Lib Dems in the coalition government to resist what they have dubbed a "bankers 'free' school." Wandsworth Council wants to spend £13 million building the school on the old Bolingbroke Hospital site in the Northcote ward of Battersea. The union has concerns that the Bolingbroke Academy will be elitist, as it will be built in a moneyed neighbourhood and has the support of some bankers. Paul...
Battersea on course for free school in Northcote

By dag440

the campaign against the free school in my view artificially skews the debate. The demographics are...

By akadri at 19:38 on 17/01/11

Local parents are a step closer to creating a new state secondary school in south Battersea after the council exchanged contracts to buy the former Bolingbroke Hospital. The council intends to lease the building to a group of local parents so they can create a new free school on the site. The council says the school will be open to local children of all abilities and from all backgrounds. But there has been opposition to the...