New Wolverhampton free school to fill 'desperate need' for quality education in city
A new multi-million pound free school in Wolverhampton will aim to fill 'a desperate need' for high quality education in the city, according to school leaders.
It will be inspired by the Sikh ethos, although it won't be a faith school and will be open to open to children of all or no religious background.
The school plans to take in an additional group of 120 pupils each year until it reaches a full capacity of around 840 by 2022.
It will be the second Sikh ethos free school in the city. Anand Primary School endured a troubled first year with less than 20 pupils on the school roll. It has now been renamed Nishkam Primary School and has a taken on a full compliment of 30 reception pupils.
Manoher Singh, project manager for The British Sikh School, said: "There is a need for more school places in Wolverhampton, but more importantly there is a desperate need for good quality education.
"We want our youngsters to leave school with the skills they need to get jobs. We appreciate schools get judged on academic results, but being able to offer vocational skills to prospective employers is equally as important.
"Our school will offer a range of experiences to meet this need."
The school is currently looking for a suitable building in the Blakenhall area of the city, but bosses have not ruled out the possibility of applying for Department for Education funding for new buildings.
Anand Primary was given a £1.6m grant from the DfE for an eight classroom extension which is currently under construction adjacent to the school's Orchard Centre base in Graiseley.
Mr Singh said: "We are mindful of the need to provide a quality environment for our students. There is the possibility of securing funding for a new building, but if we go down this route we want to make the best use of taxpayers money."
The pupil recruitment process is set to start over the next few weeks with a series of open days, while the school is due to launch and advertising campaign to attract an 'expert' headteacher.
"Our aim is to bring in the very best staff," added Mr Singh, who is a science lecturer at Walsall College. "We will start with the principal and then look to bring in highly skilled heads of department. The emphasis will be on quality."
The school will be run by a seven-strong governing body, all of whom are from the Black Country, and will form part of a multi-academy trust. They received a DfE grant of £220,000 to set the school up. Bosses at the Slough-based Khalsa Secondary Academy have been called in to help get the school up and running.
At the same time The Royal School is set to scrap its fees and convert to a free school.
Earlier this month schools minister Nicky Morgan approved 35 new free schools across the UK.
