Wolverhampton free school boosts numbers
The first free school in Wolverhampton has received a boost in numbers after a recruitment drive more than doubled the amount of pupils on its roll.
Anand Primary School re-opened this week under its new moniker, Nishkam Primary School Wolverhampton with a new full-to-capacity reception class intake of 30 pupils.
The school, which is based at the former Orchard Centre in Great Brickkiln Street, underwent a troubled first year, with less than 20 pupils on the books out of a proposed intake of 64.
But new hope emerged when the Birmingham-based Nishkam Education Trust took control of the school. The trust immediately installed a new headteacher and initiated a recruitment drive in a bid to increase pupil numbers.
The school held open days during the summer and also invited parents to visit Nishkam's schools in Handsworth, Birmingham, which opened in 2011.
Brin Mahon, chair of governors at the Nishkam Education Trust, said: "We marketed very hard all summer, held several open days and talked to lots of parents, some of who visited our schools in Birmingham.
"I think the biggest attraction for our parents is the school ethos. We are a values based school."
The school, which is run with Sikh principals but open to people of all faiths or none, was set up with the aid of a £220,000 grant from the Department for Education.
It received a further £1.6 million from the Government last year to build an eight-classroom extension, which is set to boost capacity at the school to 420 by 2019.
Mr Mahon added the Trust hopes to take on a further 30 pupils in 2015/16, followed by an additional 60 at the start of the 2016/17 term.
Free schools are set up by independent groups or individuals and funded by the Government. This means they are free from local authority control.
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They are a flagship education policy of the Conservatives, but have attracted criticism from teaching unions and many parents, who say they are unaccountable.
Earlier this week the Government withdrew funding from a Sikh free school in Leicester just two days before it was due to open because of serious concerns over the school's management.
There are currently 251 free schools in England, with a further 76 set to open over the next two years.
The latter group includes the Wolverhampton Vocational Training Centre, a mixed school for around 50 pupils with additional learning needs aged from 16 to 19.
