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New Ashmount "Free" school consultation - closes on Monday

RedSturgeonRedSturgeon
edited October 2013 in Local discussion
I don't know whether there has been discussion here before of the proposed new 'free' school on the old Ashmount Primary School site. If so, I couldn't immediately find it.<br><br>The consultation for the school closes <u>this Monday - 28th October</u>. Whether you are or may become or have been or will never be a parent, this affects you - a very large amount of Islington money risks being gifted to financial speculators.<br><br>The old site has been compulsorily requisitioned from Islington by the Education Funding Authority. The proposal is that it will be given on a 120yr lease to something called Bellevue Education Limited, which is a profit-making venture-capitalist-funded company.<br><br>You can read more (on opinioN8) <a href="http://opinion8.ning.com/forum/topics/new-free-school-on-the-ashmount-site-confirmed">here</a>.<br><br>Islington want to build much-needed housing on the site, which has recently been <a href="http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2013/oct/ashmount-squatters-are-‘not-against-free-school-…if-it’s-really-free’">squatted</a>.<br><br>Extraordinarily, local Lib Dems are <a href="http://opinion8.ning.com/forum/topics/consultation-about-a-new-local-free-primary-school">behind the proposal</a>. Local Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn spoke out strongly against it at a well-attended meeting last night.<br><br>As you'll see, the <a href="http://www.whitehallparkschool.co.uk/consultation/">consultation document </a>is heavily rigged in favour of the school, but if you don't engage with it then your opposition won't be heard and this will be yet another asset lost to the public purse.<br><br>I confess I'm against free schools generally (much preferring schools to have qualified teachers, direct accountability to LEAs and adherence to a national curriculum etc) but this one takes the biscuit. At least the last (failed) attempt to run a free school on the site was going to have been run by a non-profit organisation.<br><br>If you have the time, please read some of the documents and respond to the consultation. Takes about 10 minutes.<br>
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