Together Working Schools
Independent and state schools are reaping the benefi ts of working together _ and it’s not as one-sided as you might think, says Thea Jourdan
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p and down the country, independent and state schools are working together. Whether it’s by sharing
world-class facilities, off ering skills and expertise or simply bringing pupils together to share ideas, the move towards greater collaboration is gathering pace, However, contrary to popular perception this is not pure altruism on the part of the private sector. “Schools are diff erent and sometimes
even in competition with each other, but that doesn’t stop them co-operating on projects which are to their mutual benefi t. Independent schools don’t want
26 FirstEleven Summer 2011
to operate in isolation. T ey need to be part of the bigger educational community in order to remain relevant,” says Dick Davison, Editor of Boarding School magazine. However, for some private schools, the decision to work with a state school was borne out of necessity. St Mary’s School Ascot, in Berkshire, with 350 girls, and the signifi cantly larger co-ed comprehensive, Charters School, also in Ascot, with 1,600 pupils, couldn’t be more diff erent but their partnership 12 years ago was a solution to a problem they both shared. Both schools had two children wanting to study A-level drama but the board of St Mary’s required a
minimum of four pupils for the course. T e heads resolved the situation by pooling their pupils. T e partnership was such a huge success that the following year the course was oversubscribed. T e schools continue to work together sharing facilities, as well, with pupils from Charters using St Mary’s swimming pool and Astroturf and St Mary’s girls using Charters’ squash courts and multi-gym. Swimming pools are an obvious example of schools working together by sharing facilities. Rugby, now co-ed and leading the way in working with state schools has been sharing its impressive 25 metre six-lane swimming pool with 12
www.fi rstelevenmagazine.co.uk
PHOTO: ISTOCK
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