Westminster once more

 

Today we visited the Department in London once again. It was our first meeting with the group of civil servants which has been allotted to oversee our project, including, it seems the head of the department. A plan is being mapped out for the future; there are so many areas to tackle within the next 10 months, including admissions, recruitment of staff, curriculum and the building itself. Not the least of the problems will be where to hold venues for meetings, given that the Department is not exactly around the corner from west Cornwall...

Article on local news

There is a piece on BBC Cornwall website here

Success!

Today Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, has announced that he is putting St Michael's School in Truro  forward to the next stage for conversion into one of the nation's first 79 Free Schools. It will be the first Catholic Free School.

So many of you have been praying for this over the past 8 weeks. Your generous prayers have been answered. Cornwall will now, please God, have its very own Catholic State Secondary school.

Especial praise must go to the steering committee who have worked with ferocious and unstinting enthusiasm to put all the paperwork together.

Now the hard work will begin in a new way....
Here is the building in Camborne where we hope to take up residence. It was once the Grammar school.

Expedition to Westminster

Well the great day arrived - the Government interview for our proposal for Cornwall's first Catholic Secondary School (and the U.K.'s first Catholic 'free school').

After the overnight train to Paddington, we were able to celebrate Mass at the high altar in Westminster Cathedral and ask Our Lady's prayers in the fine Lady chapel.

Below- last minute preparations in Starbucks!

The meeting at the Department of Education headquarters in Great Smith Street began at 10am before a panel of four civil servants. We felt the six of us worked very well together, providing an articulate and confident response. We won't know what they decide yet until the end of September/beginning of October.

Here we are breathing a sigh of relief afterwards (our headteacher had already scooted off to catch the plane for World Youth Day in Madrid!)

But so many of you back here in Cornwall were praying that we could almost feel it.
                                     A very big thank you to you all!

Prayers are answered

The Department of Education has decided that our application is up to scratch and they have invited us for interview on 15th August. 

On TV

ITV Westcountry broadcast a piece on free schools last night, with a decent few shots of St Michael's.

The submission goes in

After a phenomenal amount of work: meetings, information gathering and not a little stress the form has been completed and sent off electronically. There was a slight scare (!!) that the Department had not received it, but they have just confirmed that it has arrived. So now we wait...

We will have to reapply...

We have just be informed that there is a new process for applications. The new deadline for our (re)application is in June; we then might be called to interview any time up to August and will hear if we are successful in September.

A step forward

Last Monday the Government moved forward our proposal for our own free school opening in Cornwall in September 2012. The proposal now goes to the next stage - 'business and planning' so we are not there yet: please keep on praying. Of course we also still need to prove evidence of demand; do speak about it to any parent who might be interested. For although it will be a school where the teaching and ethos will be fully Catholic, it will open to all children.