Elmgreen School
Encyclopedia
The Elmgreen School in West Norwood
is the first Parent Promoted secondary school
to be created in the UK under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998
. The school is a specialist Humanities College
.
. Following a public consultation in October 2003, a group of 40 parents formed The Parent Promoters Foundation (PPF). Working in partnership with Lambeth Local Authority, the PPF successfully campaigned to raise the necessary £25 million funding via the Building Schools for the Future
programme.
The PPF worked with DfES ministers, educationalist's and the local authority to write the formal proposals and design the ethos for the school. Formal approval by the Schools Organisation Committee was given in July 2005 to establish a mixed non-denominational school for 1100 students to open in September 2007.
A unique Governing Body which has a parental majority was formed in October 2005, and they appointed Asma Mansuri as the first headteacher of The Elmgreen School in February 2006.
The first year intake of 180 students spent two years in an Ellis Williams Architects-redesigned Victorian primary school in Gipsy Road, West Norwood which was originally built for the 1875 establishment of a London School Board
school known as Gipsy Road School. The buildings on Gipsy Road were originally designed to hold a large number of pupils (up to 1000) . However, this was pushed to the limits when in 1958 Norwood School for Girls
was established as a secondary school for girls aged between 11 and 16 by the London County Council
and housed on the same site. Norwood School for Girls began moving to a new site in 1971, and the site was eventually completely taken over by a school for younger pupils once again, which would for many years be known as Norwood Park Primary School. This school was closed in 2002 due to falling numbers and the site was then used as the temporary home for Crown Lane Primary School whilst that school's buildings were rebuilt. When Crown Lane Primary School moved back to Crown Lane the buildings became vacant, ready for the redevelopment to prepare them for The Elmgreen School's occupancy. With the relocation of The Elmgreen School to its permanent site in 2009, Gipsy Road became part of the Kingswood School Foundation.
The Elmgreen School is now in its fourth year of opening. Key Stage 3 results show the school is in the top 10% of similar non-selective schools nationally. The first GCSE results will come out in 2012. English Baccalaureate predictions are between 30-40% pass rate against a national average of 15% and a borough average of 7%.
In July 2010 former Elmgreen Deputy Head John Wilkinson was appointed as Headteacher. To mark the immense contribution the outgoing Headteacher Ms Mansuri made to the formation of the school, the library and learning resource centre was re-named 'The Mansuri Library' in her honour.
Associates were selected to design the school. Construction began in February 2008 by Carillion and was completed in September 2009. The location is on Elmcourt Road in West Norwood
on a site formerly occupied by the Elm Court School, a school for Special Educational Needs
. Elm Court School moved to the redeveloped Strand Centre (the buildings of the former Strand School
) on Elm Park in Tulse Hill
. Thus, Elmgreen School is located on Elmcourt Road whilst Elm Court School is located on Elm Park.
West Norwood
West Norwood is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth.It is primarily a residential suburb of south London but with some light industry near Knights Hill in the south....
is the first Parent Promoted secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
to be created in the UK under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998
School Standards and Framework Act 1998
The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was the major education legislation passed by the incoming Labour government of Tony Blair.This Act:* imposed a limit of 30 on infant class sizes....
. The school is a specialist Humanities College
Humanities College
Humanities Colleges were introduced in 2004 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, humanities. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Humanities...
.
History
The school was created to address a major shortfall in the number of secondary school places in the London Borough of LambethLondon Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
. Following a public consultation in October 2003, a group of 40 parents formed The Parent Promoters Foundation (PPF). Working in partnership with Lambeth Local Authority, the PPF successfully campaigned to raise the necessary £25 million funding via the Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future is the name of the previous UK Government's investment programme in secondary school buildings in England. The program is very ambitious in its costs, timescales and objectives, with politicians from all English political parties supportive of the principle but...
programme.
The PPF worked with DfES ministers, educationalist's and the local authority to write the formal proposals and design the ethos for the school. Formal approval by the Schools Organisation Committee was given in July 2005 to establish a mixed non-denominational school for 1100 students to open in September 2007.
A unique Governing Body which has a parental majority was formed in October 2005, and they appointed Asma Mansuri as the first headteacher of The Elmgreen School in February 2006.
The first year intake of 180 students spent two years in an Ellis Williams Architects-redesigned Victorian primary school in Gipsy Road, West Norwood which was originally built for the 1875 establishment of a London School Board
London School Board
The School Board for London was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London....
school known as Gipsy Road School. The buildings on Gipsy Road were originally designed to hold a large number of pupils (up to 1000) . However, this was pushed to the limits when in 1958 Norwood School for Girls
The Norwood School
Norwood School is an independent co-educational K-8 school in Bethesda, Maryland founded in 1952.-History:Norwood was founded as an Episcopal parish day school. In early 1952, in response to requests from parishioners, the Rector of St. John’s Church, Norwood Parish, asked Frances Marsh, the...
was established as a secondary school for girls aged between 11 and 16 by the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
and housed on the same site. Norwood School for Girls began moving to a new site in 1971, and the site was eventually completely taken over by a school for younger pupils once again, which would for many years be known as Norwood Park Primary School. This school was closed in 2002 due to falling numbers and the site was then used as the temporary home for Crown Lane Primary School whilst that school's buildings were rebuilt. When Crown Lane Primary School moved back to Crown Lane the buildings became vacant, ready for the redevelopment to prepare them for The Elmgreen School's occupancy. With the relocation of The Elmgreen School to its permanent site in 2009, Gipsy Road became part of the Kingswood School Foundation.
The Elmgreen School is now in its fourth year of opening. Key Stage 3 results show the school is in the top 10% of similar non-selective schools nationally. The first GCSE results will come out in 2012. English Baccalaureate predictions are between 30-40% pass rate against a national average of 15% and a borough average of 7%.
In July 2010 former Elmgreen Deputy Head John Wilkinson was appointed as Headteacher. To mark the immense contribution the outgoing Headteacher Ms Mansuri made to the formation of the school, the library and learning resource centre was re-named 'The Mansuri Library' in her honour.
Buildings
Working with local community, primary school children and The Sorrell Foundation, the PPF carried out extensive consultation on the architectural brief for the new school, and following a closed competition the architects Scott Brownrigg and David AdjayeDavid Adjaye
David Adjaye OBE is a British architect.-Early life:David Adjaye was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The son of a Ghanaian diplomat who has lived in Tanzania, Egypt, Yemen and Lebanon before moving to Britain at the age of nine, he led a privileged life and was privately educated...
Associates were selected to design the school. Construction began in February 2008 by Carillion and was completed in September 2009. The location is on Elmcourt Road in West Norwood
West Norwood
West Norwood is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth.It is primarily a residential suburb of south London but with some light industry near Knights Hill in the south....
on a site formerly occupied by the Elm Court School, a school for Special Educational Needs
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
. Elm Court School moved to the redeveloped Strand Centre (the buildings of the former Strand School
Strand School
Strand School was a boys' grammar school in the Tulse Hill area of South London. It moved there in 1913 from its original location in the Strand...
) on Elm Park in Tulse Hill
Tulse Hill
Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London, England. It lies to the south of Brixton, east of Brixton Hill, north of West Norwood and west of West Dulwich.-History:...
. Thus, Elmgreen School is located on Elmcourt Road whilst Elm Court School is located on Elm Park.