Hello. We've been contacted by the folks at West London Free School and they've asked us to post up this statement from the headteacher:
"I saw this thread and thought I'd try and answer a few of the questions parents and educators have raised about the West London Free School Primary. I'm the headmistress, Natalie de Silva.
"In order to reach as many prospective parents as possible in our community, we held two open evenings in November and scheduled two sessions on each evening, so as many parents as possible could attend. Our intention was that visitors could hear about the vision and proposed operation of the school from Toby Young and me, and then have a tour of the school.
"After each talk, a number of prospective parents stayed behind to ask further questions, which we did our best to answer. At the open evenings, we offered visitors a prospectus, which has information about our strategic and operational vision for the school, and this is also on our website.
"Several hundred prospective parents attended these sessions and we've had 396 applications for places at the school this year, making it the most over-subscribed primary in the borough. Due to the level of interest, we decided it would be impossible for me to meet every single prospective parent face-to-face ? and if I only met some it would be unfair on those I hadn?t met and could lead to accusations of covert selection. However, I have spent considerable time speaking to nearly every one of the parents we've made offers to on the telephone and answered hundreds of emails with queries specific to individual parents and their children.
"While I haven't been able to meet with the originator of this thread, I spent the best part of an hour with her on the phone, helping her weigh up the differences between a private and state education as best I could. This isn't typically something headteachers are expected to offer advice about.
"This June, I've arranged an induction day for our new intake of 60 pupils and parents, so they can get to know one another and meet the teachers. I will also be holding individual meetings with the 60 families who have decided to take up places with us. I have appointed some fantastic teachers and will make them known to parents when all safeguarding procedures have been completed - DBS checks and the like.
"At the West London Free School Primary, we are absolutely committed to protecting all our pupils. For those who are interested in our approach to pupils with disabilities, I would invite them to look at our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Policy.
"At the West London Free School Primary, we are offering a rich, knowledge-based curriculum, which we expect will encourage social cohesion rather than fragmentation.
"We spent a lot of time researching school uniform offers from a variety of different suppliers and comparing their prices with those charged by major retailers. We made it a priority to source a good quality uniform that will be smart and durable, and which is available at a fair price and offers good value for money. School uniforms have to take a great deal of wear and tear and we want to make sure that the uniform will look as smart at the end of the year as the beginning.
"We conducted a rigorous competitive tendering process, comparing service and value for money. The supplier we finally chose is the same as that of our secondary school, where, incidentally, 29% of the Year 7s are on free school meals. So we're not worried that the uniform - or our commitment to a knowledge-based curriculum - will put off families with low incomes.
"I hope this answers most of your questions and concerns."