LEICESTER'S FIRST FREE SCHOOL STARTS TO RECRUIT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Leicester's first free school starts to recruit

Thirty parents have applied for places for their children at Leicester's first free school.

Krishna Avanti Primary, in Spencefield Lane, Evington, will be the country's second Hindu school when it opens.

Sponsor the I-foundation said it was pleased with the number of applications so far and there were still have places for another 30 children.

An open day on Sunday will give parents of four and five-year-olds a chance to look around the site.

Half of the places will be reserved for Hindus. The rest can be of any other faith or none.

Chris Spall, who will take up the post of head teacher following a three-year stint in Kuwait, said the school would follow the national curriculum but adopt a Hindu ethos.

Meals will be vegetarian and pupils will grow some of the vegetables in the school's garden.

Meditation and yoga will be on the timetable and children will learn about all faiths.

"We want the school to be a calm, peaceful and purposeful environment and for the children to learn about the world around them, whether that's being a Hindu, a Catholic or any other faith," said Mr Spall, 58, who did his teacher training at Loughborough University.

"I still intend to hold a nativity at Christmas but we'll celebrate Hindu festivals, too, along with other cultures," he said.

Youngsters will start the school year in one part of the building and temporary classrooms while work is completed on the former Leicester Grammar Junior School site.

Every child will be equipped with an iPad 2. Mr Spall said: "Children can really embrace the iPad because of its touch screen and it means there's instant access to information which can enhance outside learning, too.

"If we're planting potatoes in the garden and we want to find out how long they take to grow, children can find out at the touch of a screen."

Mr Spall said he intended to visit every child and their parents before they start at Krishna Avanti in September.

"I'm really excited about the future," he said.

"Once parents see what we're planning and how it will look, it's really going to take off.

"I've worked with many religious backgrounds and cultures and it's that diversity which attracted me to this post.

"We want to set up links with other schools in the city so that children get to experience as much as they can."

The free school was one of only eight approved by the Government last year.

It will be funded directly by the Government and will have freedom over its budget.

Project director Pradip Gajjar said: "We're very pleased with numbers so far and will look to grow in the future as intended.

"We're going to have a new school that's fully renovated and we're very excited about opening in September.

"We've had a lot of inquiries and some parents may think we're no longer taking applications. That's why another open day is planned on Sunday."

The open day runs from 11am until 2pm at the school.