News September 2006
New Schools in Hackney
The first pupils to be taught at the Petchey Academy will sit down to their lessons next week, as a new secondary opens. The school, which is sponsored by the East London businessman and philanthropist Jack Petchey, is the first in the country to specialise in heath care and will provide innovative career opportunities for Hackney pupils as well as first rate education.
The opening of the Petchey Academy follows in the footsteps of Mossbourne Academy in Hackney Downs, which started in 2004 and has proved to be a popular among pupils and parents alike. The new Petchey Academy building will fully open in January, boasting state-of-the arts facilties.
The radical transformation of secondary education in Hackney does not stop there. As a new school opens for the start of Autumn term, the work on building another also begins. The Bridge Academy, in Laburnum Street, Haggerston, is a mixed secondary school, due to open next year. The first 180 girls and boys will put on their uniforms in September 2007 and will be taught in temporary accommodation adjacent to Haggerston Park.
The new Academy building will be completed for the school year starting in September 2008. An open evening is being held for parents and carers, who have children going into year six of their primary school this September to find out more. At the meetings principal, Sunita Bains will be explaining her plans for the new school. The building work will require a number of parking suspensions and road closures in the Laburnum Street area from September this year until summer 2008.
Local residents and businesses are being sent more details in a letter. Issues have been raised over the academy programme, but a recent review conducted by Hackney’s all-party Overview & Scrutiny Board allayed these concerns. One was that only the academies would only take the brightest children or those from certain backgrounds. The councillors confirmed that the admission criteria are and will be the same as existing Hackney secondary schools. Academies will only give priority to children in the Council’s care and those with special and educational needs.
The review found that the academies will also help address the shortage of school places in the borough and the councillors confirmed that academies will be mixed and non-denominational. To address any lingering concerns, the panel recommended that the academies use the agreed syllabus for religious education in Hackney.
As well as the academy programme more than £160 million is being invested in refurbishing or rebuilding all existing secondary and special schools in the borough.
Bridge open evenings 19 September, 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm); 20 September, at 5.30pm (doors open at 5pm). Both open evenings will take place at Ocean One, on Mare Street.
New secondary school roll call:
- Mossbourne Academy opened Sep 2004
- The Petchey Academy opening Sep 2006
- The Bridge Academy opening Sep 2007
- Academy in east Hackney opening Sep 2008
- ...plus a £160+m investment programme in allexisting secondary and special schools in the borough
Page updated: 28 Feb 2007