Swedish company gets ok to set up state-funded schools in London

A private Swedish company is to set up independent but state-funded schools in London.

In a further shake-up of the British education system, the government has given preliminary approval for Kunskapsskolan, the largest private education company in Sweden, to set up two outlets in Richmond, southwest London.

The schools would be part of the government’s academies scheme and would replace existing comprehensives. They may open next year and could expand into a network of up to 30 schools, the Times Online reports.

Academies are state-funded independent schools established and managed by sponsors (often private organisations, businesses, the voluntary sector and churches or religious groups) that follow the National Curriculum but are allowed to do so using their own methods. The government aims to have 200 of them by 2010.

Academies range from schools with a specialist focus – such as sport or music – to ones using very structured and traditional teaching methods and others, such as Kunskapsskolan, using modern teaching methods.

Kunskapsskolan lets students set their own long-term learning and attainment goals, which “means that at the end of your last year, your grades will not come as a surprise.”

Pupils plan their education in private sessions with a personal tutor. Some, for example, may decide they learn particular subjects better in small groups, while others do better in large ones. They may also choose short, 15-minute sessions.

The Times Online story is at this web page.

Further information on Kunskapsskolan is at this web page.