Welcome to Hackney New School

STOP PRESS :

On 2 May 2012 the HNS team was interviewed at the Department for Education. In 1 ½ hours we responded to detailed questions about elements of our education plan, the level of demand, our capacity and capability to manage the pre- and post-opening phase of the school (should our application be approved), our anticipated staffing structure and various elements of the financial plan for HNS. We believe we managed to deal with all these points in a satisfactory manner and are confident that this may lead to a positive decision sometime during the summer – but, of course, it is impossible to know, particularly as applications are being compared against each other and not only against a standard set by DfE.

In any event, we are pleased to let you know that as of early May 2012, HNS has a total of 505 children signed up. Of these, 53 children would join in the first year (starting in September 2013), representing 53% of the first year group of 100 pupils. For the second year 51 children have signed up (51% of that year’s intake), followed by 51 in year 3 (51%), 51 in year 4 (51%), 68 in year 5 (68%), 48 in year 6 (48%) and 43 in year 7 (43%). We also have 140 applications from younger children who would join HNS after 2020. This is an exceptional level of public support that reflects, we believe, the educational vision of our school and local parents’ desire to consider alternatives to the 12 existing secondary schools in Hackney.

Our efforts to gather parental support will continue and we hope to show further growth in sign-ups by the time (and if) our application is approved by the Department for Education. Please continue to share news about HNS with your friends and colleagues to ensure that this unique educational project can succeed.

Background to Hackney New School

A group of Hackney residents and educational experts submitted an application for a new 11 – 19 mainstream secondary school with a focus on music in Hackney in February 2012. If approved, Hackney New School will open in September 2013.

The Steering Committee of Hackney New School has developed a detailed educational plan for the school which it believes is unique in a number of ways, for instance in relation to the role music will play at the school, the extended school day, the organisation of pupils, distinctive subjects emphasizing oral debate and enquiry, outstanding teachers and an extensive “HNS Support Network”.

If you would like to contribute your thoughts, ideas, time and energy, then please go to the Get Involved page and provide us with your contact details. If you are a parent and would like to register your support for Hackney New School on behalf of your child /children please click here. We will respond to all enquiries and submissions – and provide regular updates to this website.

Central Vision

To provide students with access to the widest range of opportunities in life by fostering academic excellence and instilling self-belief, intellectual curiosity and responsibility towards others in society.

Curriculum

Hackney New School will set very high standards in the core subjects of Maths, English, Science, History, Geography, and modern languages.

The school will have a particular focus on music which will be a GCSE subject for all students. Pupils will be able to learn an instrument from Year 7 onwards and participate in a range of musical activities, some of which will be organised in partnership with the Hackney Music Development Trust.

All Key Stage 4 pupils will participate in a program called The Core‚ an inter-disciplinary course that will focus on the central questions that have occupied humanity since its beginning, divided into three parts – civilisation, literature and scientific enquiry. This course will be delivered through 1-2 weekly sessions and involve projects, written work and oral debate.

Teaching Staff

The school will recruit highly motivated and passionate teachers committed to enabling all students to fulfil their potential. Positive relationships between teachers and pupils will build on the high quality of the teaching and a central focus on discipline and mutual respect.

Extended Hours

The school will adopt an ‘extended day’ policy with opening hours from 7.30am until 6 pm, divided into a “Teaching Morning” and a “Study Afternoon” with a lengthy break in between for lunch, sports and meetings with personal tutors. Students will also be able to have breakfast in the morning. We believe students benefit significantly from having ample time to learn how to think for themselves, and this is what we will seek to nurture during the Study Afternoons. We will offer a comprehensive support infrastructure to help children in this process.

The school will also be open on Saturday mornings, in the summer for a a “Summer School” and in the evening for an “Evening School” with many programs on offer for parents and other members of the local community.

Student Organisation

Students will be organised primarly horizontally (ie: within the same year group) for teaching programmes and vertically (ie: across year groups) for pastoral care and HNS support programmes. HNS will provide mixed-ability teaeching because it supports peer-to-peer learning, is socially beneficial for child development, consistent with HNS admission policies and because there is no evidence that academic setting achieves better outcomes. Students will receive most lessons in the same classroom with teachers moving around between lessons. This is more effective logistically and supports a number of our educational objectives.

Community Focus

We anticipate that HNS will become a central hub for a wide range of activities available to the entire Hackney community. The school will make it a priority to interact and benefit the local community and in this way provide a home away from home for parents and pupils alike.
A central element of our engagement plan is to work with other schools in Hackney – and we have emphasized the importance we attach to a fruitful partnership with all elements of Hackney’s system of schools to members of the Learning Trust on a number of occasions.