Another Headteacher gone from West London Free School?

[orangecurd]

According to the Good Schools Guide, Mr Naismith 'left abruptly in May 2014'. This must obviously have been in the last few days. Do any current parents (or anyone else) know more?

[foreveratodds]

100% agree with Artichokes.

[eddiemairswife]

I live in a LA where there is 1 girls' grammar and 16 comprehensives including 1 (highly oversubscribed) CofE and 2RCs. Looking at the statistics 25.9% of secondary pupils have FSM. The figures for the grammar and CofE schools are 2.6% and 5.3% respectively. Also, for high-attainers the figures are 94% and 46% as compared with the LA 26%.None of the other comps come any where near. I can only conclude that devout CofE parents have brighter than average children, and perhaps (like Moses and Elijah) are provided with manna or are fed by ravens.

[AnnyBee]

MillyMolly I agree - the CV's of the deputies read like applications for junior posts - citing one or two interesting projects. Leadership teams need a lot of experience.

[foreveratodds]

Mystified as to why Artichokes has deleted one of the best posts I have read in a long time...

[Saganoren]

what roughly did it say foreveratodds, am intrigued?

[foreveratodds]

Sorry, it would be wrong for me to paraphrase. If she has decided to delete it, I must respect her decision to do so.

[Saganoren]

Oh yes, didn't realise it was her request. Fair enough.

[Icimoi]

I'm wondering whether the fact that Hammersmith and Fulham has become Labour controlled will put a spoke in Toby Young's wheel. I suspect they'll be considerably less accommodating that the previous regime was when it comes to finding premises for them.

[Saganoren]

I think anger about WLFS plus other free school shenanigans (not to mention Charing Cross hospital plans) in Hammersmith was the final straw for a lot of voters.

[vindscreenviper]

Has any of this stuff about the ex-Head been confirmed yet, or is it just speculation?

zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/wlfs-what-head-was-up-to.html

Anybody know if a new Head has been appointed yet?

[vindscreenviper]

This blog claims that the Head and 2 other staff have left because they set up a hockey academy using WLFS resources and didn't reimburse the school, a very literal interpretation of the name 'Free School'.

zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/wlfs-seedy-reality.html

zelo-street.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/wlfs-total-lack-of-discipline.html

[BeatAboutTheBush]

The simple fact is that we don't pay or respect teachers enough, we never have. Time for change.

Change can happen, look at this...

Thanks to some extremism up North, the big point is now hitting headlines. CofE opening up to fair admissions - yeh! Time for Catholics to follow suit please.

www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10890470/Selection-by-faith-axed-at-new-wave-of-Anglican-schools.html

www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/make-all-state-schools-secular-and-all-faith-schools--if-we-must-have-them--private-9529315.html

www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article4115015.ece
Faith schools are divisive. Let’s get rid of them
by Alice Thomson
The Times, published at 12:01AM, June 11 2014

[LikeMumUsedToMake]

Is it true a new head has been appointed - nothing about it on their website

[ThisOneAndThatOne]

The Alice Arnold article is creative journalism in the extreme

I went to the Jewish School she mentions

• there were a number of non-Jewish students (some of whom were children of the teaching staff as was Alice herself, a fact she omits)
  
• we not only studied Shakespeare, but we performed productions. In fact the headteacher was an English teacher and taught Shakespeare himself
  
• why is it a surprise we didn't mix with the local community? It was a boarding school a couple of miles from the nearest town. We lived on site!
  

But apparently we mixed enough with the local children to ask then to buy us Pork Scratchings. Why couldn't we just buy them ourselves is not revealed. Also, she doesn't mention whether there were any other snacks we asked her to supply. Or was it just pork scratchings that we all craved? No one wanted chocolate or a bag of cheese and onion.

[ThisOneAndThatOne]

Sorry. I meant Alice Thompson not Arnold

[vindscreenviper]

Letter from new Head dated 6th June

Dame Sally is namechecked but no mention of the media's favourite education expert Toby Young.

[KittyVonCatsington]

Thanks for the link viper. Doesn't the new Head know it should be "Yours faithfully", not "sincerely"

[vindscreenviper]

at Kitty

Do you think that Toby 'intellectual rigour' Young proof read it for him?

[Morrismajor77]

Another 9 teachers have left WLFS this week and the new head teacher has no previous experience as a HT - I wonder how long he will last?

[HPparent]

Bloody hell! I feel sorry for the students and their parents who are the innocent victims of this horrible mess.

I read this week that the new boys free school in Fulham IS now opening after all. I hope that doesn't descend into the same level of farce as WLFS.

[vindscreenviper]

They'll need to fit revolving doors on the staff room and the Headteachers office when they eventually move into their new building.

[Anomis]

I am about to choose my preferences for secondary school. I have visited Holland Park, West London Free School, Chelsea Academy, Ashcroft, Fulham Boys School, Ark Putney.
So far my choices are 1-Holland Park, 2-West London Free School, 3- Chelsea Academy, 4-Fulham Boys. Are there any parents who have children at Holland Park, West London Free School or Chelsea Academy who can give me some up to date feedback on their experience of the schools?
Many of the posts on here are old and I would like a more recent opinion. Thanks in advance, any contribution will be much appreciated!
Also if anyone is at the WLFS how are you finding the fact that there are no technical or vocational subjects? I like the sound of a classical education and my son's passion and forte is writing and English.

[brandpuppy]

clearly!