Whitton Agaisnt Turing House

[WhittonAgainstTuringHouse1]

Please support our cause if you think it is just.

We are trying to prevent Turing House Secondary School being built in Whitton.

All info here

www.change.org/p/teddington-s-turing-house-secondary-school-may-be-built-in-whitton

www.facebook.com/Whittonagainstturinghouse

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I´m not convinced that Turing House School is going to be as amazing as it claims it´s going to be. My husband is a teacher and we´ve had a look at their website.

We notice that Turing House is going to have 8 members of staff in addition to the Head. We are concerned regarding the lack of qualification of this small body of staff, particularly in subject specialisms and in secondary experience.

For example, the History teacher has no experience of teaching History and no degree in that subject. Also, the Geography teacher has no degree in Geography and no experience of teaching secondary Geography.

Also, the Spanish and Drama teacher has no formal teaching qualification to teach either subject. In addition, the Music teacher seems to have limited secondary teaching experience.

Perhaps more worryingly Turing House claims to offer a Specialist Science College education but the only Science teacher has a degree in Sports and Exercise Science and not Biology, Chemistry nor Physics. Also, the Technology teacher has not yet been recruited despite it being past the deadline for normal teaching applications.

I also notice from the Turing House website that the school is going to offer the English Baccalaureate but that none of the members of staff seem to have experience in this area which I believe is very different to traditional exams.

As a parent considering this as an option for my son who is in year 5, we are concerned about applying to a Free School where the experience of a small group of teachers is limited.

And I certainly don´t want to be travelling to Whitton for my local school.

ZoeTedders, as you posted that to 3 different threads I hope you don't mind me directing anyone interested towards the local thread rather than repeating the conversation here.

I'm going to type here because I think some of the topics surrounding new free schools are applicable to more communities than just the Richmond Borough. The proposed site in Whitton is indeed very controversial. I've always been a supporter of Turing House and was outraged when it's planned opening for 2015 was pulled. I am also a former Whitton resident. I know the area well, and I quite get me head round why Whitton would want a second senior school so very close to Twickenham Academy.

And with todays queen speech that says coasting schools will be turned into academies. What about Twickenham Academy (already an academy). What will they do with that? The borough has pured a lot of money into those buildings. So, for me, this begs the question "Why not give the Russel Group the Twickenham Academy and get rid of the failing Leanring Trust?" They could expand the school and let in some Teddington kids, but not the overwhelming majority.

I have been a long and dedicated supporter of Turing House. Byt I am staunchly opposed to seeing in built in Whitton if it then proceeds to take the majority of its intake from Teddington.

And, of course, if Teddington children really want to get the bus to Whitton to go to school they can already do so by applying to the undersubscribed Twickenham Academy. So, why don't they apply there? I know, because its an underperforming school. So the nice school in Whitton will be for Teddington kids. And the coasting substandard one will be for the Whitton kids. What do you suppose this will do for cross-borough relations? I can't see these two schools co-existing a few hundred yards apart in peace and harmony.

This is an outrageous plan.

I support Turing House... in Teddington! (or with a change in admissions policy whereby the entrance point is abolished completely)