European School's hopes (From The Oxford Times)
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European School's hopes
12:00pm Monday 29th August 2011 in Abingdon By Liam Sloan
Maurizio Fantato
Campaigners trying to save Culham European School’s unique multi-lingual education by opening a new “free school” have been grilled by Government officials.
The 33-year-old European Commission funded school is set to close in 2017, because too few pupils are the children of workers at the EU’s JET nuclear fusion project in Culham.
Every pupil is taught their lessons in three different European languages, and they study for the European Baccalaureate instead of GCSEs and A-levels.
Parents and supporters want the educational ethos to survive the school’s closure, and have been trying to find a way to set up a new school on the site at Culham.
Now supporters have been interviewed by Department for Education (DfE) officials over plans to open a free school, named the Europa School, on the same site next year.
Under the plans, the new school would slowly grow to replace the existing school, as it winds down to 2017.
Streering group chairman Maurizio Fantato said: “We had a good interview, and and we are now waiting to hear the outcome.
“Obviously one of the key issues is related to the financing of the project, and the Government wanted to make sure all areas had been considered.”
He said the streering group had shown the project had robust contigency plans, and would work alongside other Oxfordshire schools rather than pose a threat to them.
Places at the proposed school were already oversubscribed, he added.
But he said: “Even if we get a green light, it still means we have a few things we have to resolve over the next few months, including the issue of shared premises with the European School.
“The DfE would be behind it, but that would still need to be decided in Brussels.”
If it offered the same multi-lingual education, the new Europa School would have to do so on the finances provided by the Government, and it would have to recruit enough foreign teachers to support the curriculum.
Currently the European Commission offers generous tax breaks and working conditions to teachers seconded from across the EU, but the new free school would be unable to offer the same.
Earlier this year, an attempt to convert the European School into an academy collapsed, despite the Government spending £657,000 on the project.
Mr Fantato said he was confident enough qualified staff could be found in Oxfordshire.
He said: “The project is certainly on a much more even keel than it was when the academy was being proposed.
“I am quietly confident, but until we get a letter from the Department for Education, anything can still happen.”
If ministers back the project, the new school could get its first intake of up to 65 pupils in September 2012.
The Europa School would have a different headteacher and staff and eventually take 700 to 800 pupils aged four to 18.
The DfE are expected toreport back in September.
lsloan@oxfordmail.co.uk
Comments(4)
Lord Peter Macvey
says...
6:38pm Tue 30 Aug 11
mickeybear wrote:The Baca is a pile of poo. But if they want to carry on, good luck. As long as they do not get any of my money and fund it themselves. P.S. Is says something about the School that parents working next door do NOT want their kids educated in this excuse for a school. BMW invested because of the BACA, you are 'avin a Larf, they employ 99.99999999% non baca from production staff, please don't lie bearman.
I do hope that this comes off. The availability of a school offering the European baccalaureate is a key draw to international companies looking to set up in Oxfordshire, and has played a significant rôle in investment decisions already taken, ranging from BMW in Oxford and the various 'science centres' in the area.
There are indeed issues still to be resolved, but the Trust seems to be keeping its eye on the ball and are to be congratulated for their single-mindedness over many years.
mickeybear
says...
9:20am Thu 1 Sep 11
Do please let's try to keep things civil, even if we disagree.
There are now virtually no EU civil servants (if any) with school age children working at JET, which explains why the school has long been scheduled to close - in its present form. Indeed one could argue that inaction on the part of the authorities has resulted in increased costs for the UK taxpayer, as under the Convention the host country pays all infrastructure costs, for example.
Multi-nationals are attracted to this area inter alia because the families of their executives find the multilingual and multicultural education on offer at the European School a reassuring guarantee of 'portability' across the Continent. The contribution these corporations make to the local economy are significant.
Let's not put them off by exposing the ugly face of British society.
FatherTime
says...
12:09am Wed 7 Sep 11
If you had followed the progress of the same pupils when they went on to university, again you would have been impressed by the confidence of these pupils in tackling almost any subject.
And if you had had the privilege of learning what sort of careers these pupils established for themselves, you would have realised that they were a force to be reckoned with, an asset to their countries and an asset to Europe.
Whatever else you might think was heaped upon these pupils, there was certainly no problem with the European Baccalaureate. At one or two universities the admissions staff were too snobbish to accept this particular qualification. This was a loss to the institution concerned, but not to the pupils, whose talents were eagerly snapped up elsewhere.
mickeybear says...
5:37pm Tue 30 Aug 11
There are indeed issues still to be resolved, but the Trust seems to be keeping its eye on the ball and are to be congratulated for their single-mindedness over many years.