DELIGHT AT PROGRESS OF CITY'S FIRST FREE SCHOOL

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Delight at progress of city's first free school

Teachers, parents and children at Leicester's first free school say they are delighted with the progress in transforming its building.

Krishna Avanti primary, in Evington, opened in September in a grade II-listed building, formerly occupied by Leicester Grammar Junior School.

Youngsters have been working in temporary buildings put up on the site while thousands of pounds of refurbishment and extension work got under way.

The work is due to finish in August, in time for the autumn term, when pupils numbers at the school will increase from 30 to at least 75.

Head teacher Christopher Spall said: "We're thrilled with the way work's progressing.

"It's going to look amazing with a square piazza being created and cloisters around it – it's got a real spiritual feel to it."

Free schools are set up by charities, parents or teachers outside local authority control, but paid for by the state.

The building work at Krishna Avanti includes the creation of a classroom block for years one and two, refurbishment of the existing building inside and outside, with new windows, carpets and redecoration.

The square piazza is being built towards the back of the school and a garden area for the children to grow their own vegetables will sit to one side of it, alongside a new-look outdoor area with play equipment.

There are still 15 places left for parents who wish to send their children to the school.

Sabrina Braithwaite, from Narborough Road, in Leicester, is sending her son, Jahziah, five, from September.

She said: "I've looked around the school before but I wanted to bring my son so that he could get used to it.

"I'm very impressed with the school's calm ethos and its vegetarianism. I like the fact that children do yoga and I think he'll be happy here.Jahziah said: "I really like the school playing field."

Pargan Dhadda, from Queen's Road, has a son, Angath, five, at the school, and another son, Aaryan, four, who will start in the new academic year.

He said: "I was a little bit worried at first because it was a new school but I've been really pleased with how it's been run.

"The grounds are very impressive and far better than any other school we looked around and because it's a small school the children get lots of individual attention."

The primary, which will eventually have places for 420 children, is sponsored by education charity the I-Foundation.

It has a Hindu ethos but children of all faiths attend and follow the national curriculum.

School governor Pradip Gajjar said: "We're very happy with how the school and the work is progressing."

KRISHNA-AVANTI PRIMARY SCHOOL OPEN DAY

I'm attending an Open Day at Krishna-Avanti Primary School, Spencefield Lane, Evington this morning. The school is coming toward the end of its first teaching year. They're celebrating that milestone today, along with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend (for which reason, the event begins and ends with the singing of the National Anthem and Headmaster Christopher Spall is sporting a vivid Union Flag bow-tie).

There are demonstrations of devotional dancing, of yoga and of Maypole Dancing, and recitation in unison of verses from the Bhagavad Gita (in the original Sanskrit, then the English translation). One way or another, these activities allow all the school's pupils and teaching staff to do something in front of the gathering.

Mr Spall calls Cllr Manjula Sood to the microphone to speak. As well as currently being Assistant Mayor and Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths, Manjula was the first Asian woman to be Lord Mayor of an English city and - of more interest and relevance today - the first Asian primary school teacher in Leicester.

Other members of Leicester Council of Faiths are in attendance: Cllr Rashmikant Joshi, Suleman Nagdi and Tony Nelson. Cllr Vi Dempster, Assistant Mayor and Cabinet Lead for Children, Young People and Schools is also here today.

I have a brief chat with Fiona Dryden, who is here covering the event for the Leicester Mercury. I point out to her that there a number of members of Leicester Council of Faiths at this event and that we've helped provide occasional visiting speakers to meet pupils and staff. I give Fiona my card: we'll have to wait and see if any of this finds its way into the paper. 

By the time Pradip Gajjar, the school's Director, is offering his thanks and closing remarks, we have the first serious rain for several days. Time to move inside the marquees for a nice vegetarian lunch.

This is a very friendly, happy occasion and shows off the Krishna Avanti School in a very positive light. I'm glad that we're able to show our support for the school today and we wish staff and pupils the very best as the school progresses.

STATE-FUNDED HINDU SCHOOL IN EVINGTON HAS OPEN DAY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

State-funded Hindu school in Evington has open day

A new school, set to open in September, is already proving popular.The Krishna-Avanti Primary School in Evington will be only the second state-funded Hindu school in the UK when it opens later this year.

It is one of the coalition Government's new "free" schools – set up by charities, parents or teachers outside local authority control but paid for by the state.

The I-Foundation, an education charity, is behind the new primary school and yesterday an open day was held to allow parents of prospective pupils to look at the school.

A school spokesman said the high attendance yesterday had suggested the school would be popular.

He said: "We had 60 to 70 people coming through in the first 45 minutes alone and about 30 to 40 of them told me they had applied to the school."

Prospective parents were given a tour of the school and also heard from Naina Parmar, the headteacher of the state-funded Krishna-Avanti school in Harrow. Both schools are advised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Vishal Brahmbhatt, 30, from Belgrave, has applied for his three-year-old son Pritam to go to the school.

He said: "It's very exciting because it's the first Hindu school where children can stay in touch with their culture."

Jessica Desai, 29, from Humberstone, who visited with 15-month-old daughter, Danisha, said: "I've heard good things about the school in Harrow and I know it's very popular."

The I-Foundation has said its first intake will be 60 reception-age pupils but that it aimed to provide 420 places for children aged four to 11 by 2018.

Half of the new intake will be Hindu and the other half children who live nearest the Spencefield Lane site.

Children will follow the national curriculum but their day will include daily Hindu prayers among other things.