By Sam Dean and Laura Lambert
Islington councillor Joe Caluori is outraged by the company hired by an Upper Street primary school to stir up support for its new free school.
William Tyndale Primary School, near Highbury and Islington tube station, is planning to open a new school for children aged 11 to 16.
Local parents have told the councillor that they were doorstepped by the contracted research company at the school gate, and asked to sign a petition in favour of the new school.
“A lot of parents have been telling me that the company have been running scare stories that there won’t be a secondary school place for their child unless this school opens, and that the schools in Islington aren’t good enough for their children,” he said.
“We’ve had a couple of parents ringing up the Council in tears, panicking about this.
“I’m pretty angry about the way this company are behaving, and I think the school need to get them under control.”
Hundreds of furious Islington residents have signed a petition opposing the plans.
The petition, titled ‘Stop the proposed new William Tyndale Free School’, argues: “There is no need for this school. There is not currently a shortage of secondary places in Islington – in fact, there is a surplus.”
Councillor Caluori echoes this argument, saying: “There is a surplus of secondary school places in the borough as a whole. When there is pressure on places in the future, in about five years time, there is space at Good and Outstanding secondary schools to expand them.”
He added: “They also don’t have a site in mind, as far as I’m aware. I don’t know where they are going to put this school, they would have to buy some land which would be ruinously expensive.”
It is believed a new school would have a hugely damaging impact upon the existing schools in the area, which have all been successful in recent years.
Anna MacGillivray, an Islington parent, commented on the petition: “Islington schools have vastly improved over the last ten years, and the proposal to set up a free school will divert resources they sorely need.”
Helen Healy added: “A small school in the area where there are many excellent secondary schools does not make economic or educational sense.”
William Tyndale Primary School had not responded to an invitation to comment at the time of writing.
