What is the future for academies and free schools?

Press release issued: 15 June 2011

Academies, free schools and the role of local authorities in the future landscape will be discussed at a free event organised by the University's Graduate School of Education tomorrow [Thursday 16 June].

The answers to these questions and many others will be answered at a free talk tomorrow [Thursday, June 16].

The talk, Bristol education forum: the future of schools, will take place at the University of Bristol’s Graduate School of Education (GSOE) on Thursday 16 June from 2.30 to 5 pm in Room 4.10, GSOE, 35 Berkeley Square, Bristol. The event is part of the GSOE’s Festival of Education, which is running until June 17.

During the talk speakers will present a range of perspectives related to academies, free schools and the role of local authorities in the future landscape.

Speakers taking part in the forum include:

Mark Davies, Principal of Bridge Learning Campus, will talk about both the role of all-through schools and the role of Trust schools in the future landscape.

Steve Taylor, Principal of Bristol Metropolitan Academy, part of the Cabot Learning Foundation, will discuss the role of academies and how this is changing within the new political climate.

Zoe Welsh, Deputy Head of Easton Church of England Primary School, will talk about how primary schools fit into the overall landscape of maintained schools.

Nick Batchelar, Service Director, Learning Achievement and Schools at Bristol City Council, will present the role of local authorities.

Gemma Moss, Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, London, will discuss results from her report ”Out with the old, in with the new: what lessons can we learn from the academies programme under New Labour?”

Finally, Susanne Wiborg, Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, London, will discuss her research “Swedish free schools: do they work?”

The education forum is free and open to everyone with an interest in maintained education in Bristol. Places must be requested in advance, as numbers are limited. To book a place at the forum, please email ed-events@bristol.ac.uk

The talk is part of the GSOE’s Festival of Education, which is running until Friday 17 June. The series of public events are to celebrate the opening of the School’s new Creative Learning Spaces. The events are intended to provoke discussion of key ideas and contributions to the advancement of education, locally and globally. The events celebrate the importance of universities in supporting and provoking intellectual debate and argument.

Further information

The University of Bristol’s Graduate School of Education (GSOE) is one of the largest departments in the University.

At the core of the GSOE’s work is the understanding of how to educate people for today’s politically, technologically and socially changing world.

Central to this is the belief that the ways in which people learn throughout life within educational institutions, the workplace and informal settings is of major significance for the future development of the UK and countries around the world.

Please contact joanne.fryer@bristol.ac.uk for further information.