Fresh start for city school

8:37am Sunday 31st August 2008

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A new era will begin tomorrow when Oxford Community School reopens its doors as the city's first foundation school.

The fresh start is signalled by a new name - with the establishment re-branded as Oxford School.

As a foundation school, it will still be answerable to Oxfordshire County Council, but will own its site and be in charge of hiring and firing staff and determining pupil intake.

It joins two other foundation schools in Oxfordshire - The Warriner School in Bloxham and King Alfred's School in Wantage.

Headteacher Steven Lunt said standards at the school, which was one of four in Oxfordshire issued with a Government notice to improve earlier this year, would improve.

He said: "It will give us greater flexibility in terms of staff, allow us to continue raising standards, and greater freedom to do the things we already do well.

"I don't think students will see anything different to begin with. We are not changing the uniform immediately or becoming an academy, but we will be recruiting high quality staff and that has already started."

The news follows the publication of GCSE results, which saw just 34 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to Cs, and only 23 per cent achieving five of the higher grades in subjects including English and maths.

The Government target is 30 per cent by 2011. Mr Lunt said: "I think it is important to realise the 23 per cent we achieved this summer was in line with our expectations - and the 34 per cent we were quite pleased with, because that is the highest figure we have achieved.

"We were optimistic we could do as well as possible, but we also have to be realistic about our standards, bearing in mind the numbers of students with special needs and the number who come from different backgrounds. We also have a high number of refugees and asylum seekers."

A new deputy headteacher, in charge of the curriculum and raising achievement, starts on Monday. A state of the art science building is also planned.

Mr Lunt said: "We have recruited some excellent new teachers and you will see tangible improvements within the school very soon. We are optimistic next year's grades will be markedly improved."

Michael Waine, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for schools improvement, said: "We are all determined that examination results must improve at this school."

FOUNDATION schools differ from other schools in that they own their own buildings and grounds, employing their own staff and determining their own pupil admissions.

The governing body of the school can determine any development to take place on the site and the use to which it will be put, in and out of school hours.

It also has the responsibility for making sure facilities are safe and properly maintained.

Governors hold the contract with staff, and decide which pupils to admit - and on what basis a choice will be made if the school is over-subscribed.

Although schools receive charitable status, they remain local authority schools and are funded by the county council.