The new criteria for wave 13 states that a free school proposal must be located in one of the targeted districts identified as having low standards and low capacity to improve AND an area where there is basic need for a high proportion of the additional school places that the free school will create. If an application does not meet one of these two criteria to demonstrate need for a new free school, the DfE will stop assessing the application.
Free School News
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Free Schools in the media
Free Schools in the media
Fri 6 July 2018
Pupils at the Bromley-by-Bow secondary took the honours in the first heat of the Greenpower Challenge to build and race an eco-friendly small car. The students won ‘best newcomer’, ‘best presented’ and ‘best portfolio’ titles in the Formula 24 race staged at Ford Dunton technical centre near Brentwood on Saturday.
Thu 5 July 2018
One of the most significant updates to the wave 13 criteria is the Depart for Education’s interest in closing the gap for disadvantaged pupils. This requirement has been clearly echoed in their choice of targeted local authorities. New school cohorts are therefore likely to include high proportions of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. So what does this focus on pupil cohort mean for free school applicants?
Free Schools in the media
Free Schools in the media
NSN welcomes the announcement that the University of Liverpool Mathematics College will open in 2020
Wed 4 July 2018
Last year, King’s College London Mathematics School placed at the top of The Times A level results table after students achieved 92% A* grade in mathematics, and 99% of all grades being A*-B grades. Almost a quarter of the school’s students gained a place at either Oxford or Cambridge, and over 90% secured a place at a Russell Group university.
Free Schools in the media
Free Schools in the media
Fri 29 June 2018
To celebrate UK Robotics Week, students at Hatfield Community Free School in Hertfordshire were given the chance to programme a real robot. This was part of the University of Hertfordshire’s programme to inspire children to enter careers in computer science and robotics.
Fri 29 June 2018
Their number one tip, unsurprisingly, is for groups submitting an application in wave 13 to apply to join NSN’s Development Programme, because they know that free school applicants on the Development Programme are 50% more likely to be successful.
Free Schools in the media
Free Schools in the media
Fri 22 June 2018
Pupils and staff at Beccles Free School were celebrating after being rated Good in their most recent Ofsted inspection.
Fri 22 June 2018
In 2011, LKMco published Laura McInerney’s short book ‘6 predictable failures of free schools...and how to avoid them’. The book built on research by Seymour Sarason, the American academic who studied US Charter Schools, and discussed how the issues he identified would affect the free school programme. Reading her book now, it’s clear to see how prescient Laura was in her predictions, and how useful her recommendations were, and remain, to groups going through the free school process.
