New Islington free school planned

The School will deliver a first rate primary education with the curriculum and staffing being under the aegis of MGS. It will provide a focus of educational excellence in the city centre that will attract families who may otherwise move out to the suburbs as well children from families already resident in the area immediately surrounding the proposed site. It will be a nucleus around which the community will grow with extended opening hours welcoming children and adults alike to play as well as study.

The School will be mixed (boys and girls) and comprehensive (non-selective on academic grounds) in its intake. It will provide high quality education drawing on the best principles of MGS delivered in and adapted for a different context; it will not be a clone of MGS. There is expected to be contact between the schools at all levels though.

Before an application to open the School can be considered, hard evidence of demand for places needs to be collected. The Department for Education requires this to identify real children who may attend the School so parents of children who will be of Reception age (4 years) through to Year 5 (9 years) in September 2013 are now invited to get in touch to register that interest. They can do that via links on the websites of New Islington, Urban Splash or MGS. Three priority catchments have been identified; the residential area immediately surrounding the School in New Islington, the residential areas immediately adjacent to New Islington and children of commuters who work in the city centre.

Dr Christopher Ray, High Master of The Manchester Grammar School, said: “As one of the oldest schools in Manchester and the North West, MGS is delighted to assist in the establishment of the city’s newest school for a new millennium community. We have worked closely with local state primary schools for many years and, whilst continuing this important work, we are now ready to provide focused educational support for a new state primary school in an area of need and development.

“Central to the ethos of MGS are our firm commitments to educational excellence, to the needs of the individual within a strong and supportive community, to social diversity and social mobility, and to outreach to the disadvantaged. We are determined to ensure that boys and girls, from whatever financial and social background they may be, will receive a fantastic education at New Islington. We know that every child is different and we shall do our utmost to encourage each child to flourish as a unique individual.

“MGS was established in central Manchester in 1515 by Bishop Hugh Oldham. It is perhaps fitting that this important project is based in the very part of Manchester where our founder is thought to have been born.”

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, added: "It's long been one of our goals to have a new primary school in New Islington and that vision is moving forward step by step. We're pleased to be working with Manchester Grammar School and Urban Splash in this innovative partnership which we're confident will help make New Islington an even more attractive place to live."

Tom Bloxham MBE, Chairman of Urban Splash, concluded: "I've long had an ambition to build a new primary school in New Islington. We've already delivered hundreds of homes, workplaces, a clinic, a park and a marina and are now delighted to be making real progress towards building an inner city free school in New Islington.

"There's a generation of people who've lived in city apartments for the past decade but at the point of having children they often feel that they have to move out to the suburbs. This is a great initiative that takes us one step closer to providing more facilities at New Islington. I hope the school will be a great asset to residents of both the city centre and East Manchester and will combine the academic ambitions of MGS with our own ambition of turning New Islington into one of the very best areas of Manchester.

"Much work is still to be done but we look forward to working with MGS and the City Council to create what I hope will be one of the best free primary schools in the city."