Wapping High signs deal as Tower Hamlets’ first state-funded Free school
Funding to run the first Free secondary school in London’s East End has got the green light from Whitehall.
The Department for Education has signed a financial agreement to run the new Wapping High School, the first state-funded secondary to open in Tower Hamlets for 20 years.
The deal follows a long campaign by parents who felt isolated from local education facilities.
The school opens in September for youngsters from all backgrounds aged 11 to 16, with 41 families having accepted places so far, and is expected to meet its target of 60 pupils in the first term.
The first few starting in September have already spent a day at the school.
You may also want to watch:
Head-teacher Paul Gu�nault revealed: “They enjoyed learning a Beatles song, launching rockets, creating their own robots and visiting the Bank of England.”
The new school was intended to serve parents in Wapping and Shadwell who feel cut off by The Highway—but ironically has not managed to find a suitable site in its heartland catchment area. Instead, it found a smart office block further north in Commercial Road.
Most Read
- 1 Man, 19, stabbed in Stepney Green Park
- 2 Refugee fighting £2,850 claim in lettings agency dispute
- 3 Cyclist in critical condition after 'serious collision' in Bow
- 4 Jailed: Teenagers who left victim blind in one eye after train stabbing
- 5 Shoppers queue for bread on opening weekend of new Wapping street market
- 6 Canary Wharf floats idea for new green restaurant on water
- 7 Patient group set up over allegations of 'poor care' at Royal London
- 8 Brick Lane's famous bagel shop launches delivery service
- 9 'Hold still while I ink your portrait for Captain Tom challenge'
- 10 New street market coming to Docklands is Will's passion
The parents who set up the school achieved their goal without having to rely on a project management company.
Trust chairman Jon Cheyne explained: “We have a team with its own experience in education and project management, which had a clear vision of what it wanted the school to achieve.”
The school day will be extended for a diverse programme alongside the national curriculum, with pupils encouraged “to take responsibility for their own success.”
Their campaign was backed by Poplar & Limehouse MP Jim Fitzpatrick and personalities living in the area including actress Dame Helen Mirren.
