| Topic: | No to West London Free School,,,,, | Forum Home |
| Posted by: | Iain Muir | |
| Date/Time: | 18/11/09 01:21:00 |
| Time for a new thread on Toby Young’s campaign for a ‘Private but funded by Us’ new secondary school for Acton...(see Elephant in the Room thread below, hopefully not used from now if you follow my logic......but feel free!) The ‘West London Free School’ web site is now available http://www.westlondonfreeschool.co.uk/index.html and a Public Meeting is planned for the Rocket PH on 20/11 at 7pm Please read the ‘Old thread’ with valued, knowledgeable, contributions and have a look at the proposed school website and make your own judgement but to help you get started... 1.Toby now plans to follow the Academy School route, you used to have to have a philanthropist/religious group/etc willing to donate £2m but no longer, thanks to a helpful Ed Balls, says Toby. But you still have to demonstrate a demand for a new school through lack of available secondary places. Toby suggests this might be a minor problem and is hopeful that helpful LBE Councillors and staff, together with Ed Balls again might overcome the statistics. I suspect Twyford may be over subscribed but that Acton High has space, not to include the Catholic secondary’s or Ellen Wilkinson.......Proving lack of space could be a serious problem? 2. A new Academy will take financial resources away from existing schools. Toby and his friends seeking a ‘Comprehensive Grammar with every child studying Latin’ will use cash from our council (and central government) at the expense of us all and diminish our existing schools. 3. The web site has no detail as to admission requirements, Toby originally said ‘open to all, regardless of ability’ They will have to adhere to Academy standards but how if they are to meet their stated standards? With a projected size of 300 to 500 pupils how will they allocate places? 4. The school Steering Group is of interest, 11 people including Toby and his wife Caroline, no chair or other office holders mentioned or constitution. 3 female, 8 male members, all from what I can judge would self classify ‘White’ on an equal ops form. They have Media, economics, banking, and business interests , two teachers and a Restaurateur, almost all state either a past or current involvement in private education for themselves or their children, often in Hammersmith. Some Acton resident, others not clear. Edited resumes below are based on their site together with some web research. My apologies for any errors but does anyone else see recurrent themes? West London Free School – Steering Group – Edited Version Charlie Ben-Nathan, Economics graduate, teaches at Latymer Upper School Stefan Bojanowski, Economist, attended London Oratory and Cambridge, is very keen on Latin Caroline Bondy (Wife of Toby Young) LSE Graduate, qualified solicitor but full time mum, volunteers at her children’s school (not specified LA or Private) 4 children, lives in Acton Lucy Bright, Logistician, Works for Innocent Smoothies in Hammersmith, attended Godolphin & Latymer and Graduate of Kings College. Lived in West London all her life. Founded a charity after child born with rare eye condition, has volunteered at three primary schools in LBHF – has two children (school not specified) Susan Cagnoli, Company Director, Has worked in local media and music industry, educated at a state assisted Grammar school, two children at independent schools in Hammersmith Nick Hamlyn, previously worked in Financial Markets and gave it all up to teach (featured in several media reports as having done so) Latterly Head of Year at Mill Hill Comp for several years. Wife works in the media, two young children. According to a Daily Mail report 14/11/2009 Mr Hamlyn has been suspended from his job following allegations made as to ‘inappropriate’ behaviour whilst with teenage pupils during a school trip to South Africa earlier this year. See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1227653/Nick-Hamlyn-City-teaching-drive-suspended-probe-girls.html Cosmo Lush, Strategy and business development executive in the digital media industry. Senior job for Channel 4, Spectator magazine contributor, Cosmo lives in Shepherd’s Bush with wife, is a governor of his son’s Church of England primary school and is an active fundraiser, three young children Alistair Milward. educated through the boarding/Public school system from the age of eight, lived in Acton since 2002, two girls at school in Hammersmith, one at Independent. Used to work in Insurance. An ‘Alistair Milward’ (possibly no relation) suggested at a meeting of the Gunnersbury Park Regeneration Board held on Wednesday, 28 May 2008 that both mansions be used for an independent school. Cllr Dabrowski (LBE-Conservative) supported, (Cllr Brookes LBE-Labour) opposed. No further action agreed. Oliver Peyton, renowned Irish Restaurateur and entrepreneur, and the founder/chairman of Peyton and Byrne Limited. He owns several restaurants throughout London, which, over the years, have been as much applauded for their architectural achievements as their gastronomic standards. Peyton has homes in West London and Cornwall and an extensive art collection. Justin Tosh, Works in Capital Markets, specialising in building business’s in the finance industry, previously a Royal Navy Pilot, serving all over the world. Married to Angela Grant, founder of local ballet school, two young daughters. (Angela Grant de Longueuil was born to Isabel Padua, a Filipina teacher, and Baron Michael Grant de Longueuil (in the Canadian peerage), second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Angela has worked in modelling and as an actress.) Toby Young. a British journalist and the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2001) and The Sound of No Hands Clapping (2006). Married to Caroline Bondy, also on the steering group (see above), lives in Acton as he said could not afford to live close to his mates in the posher part of Shepherds Bush In 1991, Young founded and edited the Modern Review with Julie Burchill and Cosmo Landesman. Young moved to New York in 1995 to work for Vanity Fair, where he was a contributing editor from 1995-98. Young is now an associate editor of The Spectator and the restaurant critic of the Independent on Sunday. He has performed in the West End in a stage adaptation of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and, in 2005, co-wrote a sex farce about the David Blunkett/Kimberley Quinn scandal called Who's the Daddy?. It was named Best New Comedy at the 2006 Theatregoers' Choice Awards. He co-produced the film version of How to Lose Friends & Alienate People and, more recently, co-produced and co-wrote a dramadoc for More4 called When Boris Met Dave. His teaching experience includes working as a teaching fellow at Harvard and a teaching assistant at Cambridge. He lives in Acton with his wife and four children. As part of the promotion of the film of ‘How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Caroline wrote an article for the Times revealing Toby’s eccentric behaviour see: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article4847558.ece Toby has written how his failure to achieve entry to Oxford (not getting 3 ‘B’s) was overcome by clerical error and a phone call from his famous father. I hope this proves useful in your search to decide if the Toby initiative is good or bad, that you respond and or turn up to his meeting at the Rocket. As I have said previously well done to Toby for raising the issue of better secondary education in Acton, but as a past parent of my local Comprehensive school believe he should get involved and not divert scarce resources from Acton children Iain Muir PS Check out the figure on their masthead, Greek , Roman or something else? Just what I want for my 21st century child........ My apologies for any odd formatting, it all made sense in Word! |