ETON COLLEGE has signed an agreement with Star Academies to open three selective state sixth forms in northern areas for poorer pupils.
According to The Times, Star Academies, which started as a small chain of muslim schools now runs 30 schools in some of the poorest parts of the country. Sir Hamid Patel, its chief executive, who was knighted this month for services to education, has formed a partnership with Eton College - a 581-year-old institution.
The Times added that it is the first time a prestigious private school has formed a partnership with an academy trust. Moreover, the sixth forms opening under the free schools programme, will look to fast-track pupils from poor homes to top universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.
The locations of the three schools is yet to be determined but it will be situated in the deprived parts of the north or west Midlands and open from 2024.
They will admit 240 pupils per year, who will have teaching from some of the country’s most respected subject specialists at Eton and access to talks from high-profile speakers. Also the students from the new schools will have a chance to attend Eton College for a summer school each year.
Pupils will be picked up selectively with the focus on young people on free school meals or who particularly live in deprived places.
Simon Henderson, 45, Eton's headmaster said: “While our contexts may be different, we have a shared educational ethos and vision. By working together we can deliver outstanding educational opportunities and outcomes to young people in these communities, which will surpass what either organisation could have achieved on our own.”
Patel, 42, added: “This is a fantastically exciting moment for both our organisations. Eton bringing its approach to education to disadvantaged communities, allied to our own successful ethos, has the potential to be transformative for both the students who will attend but also the wider civic lives of the towns and cities in which our new colleges will open.”
Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, said: “I’m delighted to see Star Academies join forces with Eton College to focus on providing exciting opportunities for pupils. Our best schools can lead the way in driving up standards across the country.”
