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‘A small school with a big curriculum’
b10-960 Mark Lehain former maths teacher at Wootton Upper School has given up his job to try and set up a new school.
THE head of Bedford’s newest school has moved into the premises of the Bedford Free School, and met the Times & Citizen this week to show how his vision of a “small school with a big curriculum” is developing.
Mark Lehain is principal designate of the school, which will open in September at Cauldwell House in Cauldwell Street.
Parents have until February 17 to apply for places, which will begin by taking pupils in Years 7 and 9.
Mark said: “Around a third of every student’s timetable will be on enrichment. There will be no such thing as ‘extra-curricular’ here, it will all be part of every day.
“I want every pupil to benefit from music and the arts, so every timetable will include two hours of clubs. Yes, there might be more after school as well, but to feed those extra hours in the timetable, the hours of the school will be from 8.30am to 4.15pm.”
Bedford Free School will have 500 pupils when it is full, but will begin with an initial intake of 200 students.
Mark, who was appointed in November, was keen to stress that the core subjects will still be at the heart of the school. He aims to have every pupil achieve a Grade C in both English and maths.
And he also placed emphasis on the importance of discipline, saying: “There will be high expectations of every child, every member of staff, and every parent.”
But Mark also believes that the school will benefit from another one of the ways it will be different from most other state schools - by teaching pupils from age 11-16. Bedford Borough largely has a two-tier school system, with students attending upper school from 13 years old.
He said: “The really exciting thing is that when we are up and running we will have five years to work with students and get to know them really well. We’ll have three years with students before they choose their GCSEs, and we’ll be able to work on all their core skills before they make that decision.
“That means students will be in a better position when they make their choices.”
Parents and students can find out more about Bedford Free School at www.bedfordfreeschool.co.uk
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Monday 28 May 2012
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