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| Islamia Primary School |
Parents of Islamia Primary School in Brent have launched an on-line petition asking Brent Council to provide a permanent building for the school after 10 years in limbo. Parents say that the children's education suffers from an inadequate building with Key Stage 2 pupils having to cross the busy Salusbury Road four times a day to reach the annexe. They have seen other borough schools expand with new build and free schools set up and feel that their children's needs have been neglected.
The school was founded by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens before his conversion) with his own resources and after a long struggle became voluntary aided. It is known for the good results it achieves and is substantially over-subscribed.
The petition which is accessible on the Brent Council website HERE is reprinted below.
Support Permanent Building for Islamia Primary School VA (2 form entry)
We the undersigned petition the council to 1. Stop ignoring the needs of Islamia Primary School and its pupils. 2. Treat Islamia Primary School pupils, parents and staff fairly. 3. Secure Islamia Primary School with a permanent offsite building to house all its 420 pupils.
Context:
Islamia Primary School did Brent Council a huge favour by taking on all pupils from the Avenue School in 2007 and has made huge sacrifices over the past 10 years, operating under very difficult conditions.
21% of our pupils (90 pupils) continue to make four journeys a day across two busy roads to access the annexe building.
Due to the failed new build programme, a CDT room, art room, two additional classrooms, the kitchen and canteen were all demolished with nothing put in its place except a temporary marquee.
This arrangement has been in place for 10 years and our school has remained in limbo ever since.
The Facts:
Over the past 10 years, Brent has failed to adequately house 420 pupils from Islamia Primary School, whilst opening more and more schools and expanding almost every school in the borough.
1. Brent closed The Avenue School, 5-7 The Avenue, London, NW6 7YG, and transferred the pupils to Islamia Primary School in January 2007.
2. New £8 Million build was due to be completed by 2012 but did not happen due to delays from Brent and pressure from local group ‘We Love Queen’s Park’.
3. In 2012, a new 3 form entry school was proposed by Brent as part of the South Kilburn Regeneration project for a 2018 opening. This building has since been ear marked to house existing schools Kilburn Park Junior (2 form entry) and Carlton Vale Infant (2 form entry) and Nursery for a 2019/2020 opening.
4. Brent Staff Development centre (Gwenneth Rickus Building) closed in 2013 and was given to Leopold Primary School in 2015 for their expansion plan (840 pupils).
5. In February 2013, Brent council sold the Brent Town Hall building to The French Education Property Trust who transformed it into an international French school called the Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill, which opened in September 2015.
6. New £8 Million build was revived and was due to be completed by 2016 but did not happen again due to unacceptable conditions placed on the Foundation, which included putting a cap on numbers for the Independent Girls Secondary School.
7. In 2013, Brent granted permission for a new free school (The Michaela Community School) to open at Arena House in North End Road (previously College of North West London Wembly Park Campus). It opened in September 2014 and will have 840 students by 2020.
8. In September 2014, Ark academy submitted a free school application to the Department for Education, to open a new 3 form entry primary academy in Wembley. Brent agreed for Ark to open Ark Somerville Primary Academy (2 form entry) on the car park of the York House to be opened in September 2019.
9. In September 2015, a new school (Kilburn Grange School) opened on the site of the newly refurbished state of the art College of North West London (Kilburn campus) on Priory Park Road, which was also temporarily shared with Marylebone Boys’ School (a free school from Westminster).
10. In September 2016, Brent Council granted Marylebone Boys’ School (a free school from Westminster) permission to demolish an existing nursery building to create a “purpose-built, modular” building on land at the junction between Brondesbury Park and Christchurch Avenue (480 students). The temporary building remained for two years until July 2018.
11. In July 2017, The Carlton Centre, Granville Road, Kilburn was advertised for a 5 year lease. Although Islamia Primary School made a formal bid, the property was given to the Penny Appeal charity for a non-school related community project.
12. Although Islamia Primary School has been using Winkworth Hall since 2007, it was informed by Brent in November 2018 that it could never purchase Winkworth Hall even if it was totally vacant.
13. In November 2018, Brent confirmed plans for a new 6 forms of entry secondary school to be built on the site of Chancel House, Neasden Lane. It will be a free school with Wembley High Technology College, an academy, as its sponsor
Sign the petition HERE
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