Putney academy has some places for those with no school

There may be place left in the Ark for boys left without a school after plans for Fulham Boys School fell through.

Ark Academy Putney has written to primary schools in Fulham saying that they can offer places to some of the 100 boys who have missed out on a school place this September after the delay to the opening of the Fulham Boys School.

The Fulham school, a secondary Church of England Free School, which already deferred its planned opening from 2013 to this year, was due to open on September 8 on a temporary site in the Gibbs Green Housing Estate in North Fulham.

It then hoped to move to a new site in Parsons Green which would be created by the demolition of Sulivan Primary School and its amalgamation with another primary, New King's.

However, Hammersmith and Fulham Council's new Labour administration agreed last month to publish proposals to revoke Sulivan's closure, leaving The Fulham Boys School without a future home.

Alison Downey, Principal at ARK Putney, said: "We know parents will be concerned about where to send their child when term begins in September. ARK Putney has a strong academic record and we aim to prepare every child to go to a top university by the time they leave. I would encourage parents to get in touch and visit the school, as we still have a handful of places left.”

ARK Putney is part of ARK Schools which runs 19 schools in London – all of those that have been inspected by Ofsted so far are rated as good or outstanding.

ARK Putney Academy, which is located just across the river, still has a handful of places available at the school for the new term. The school, which used to be known as Elliott School is rated good by Ofsted and has a strong record in music. Previous students at Elliott included Hot Chip, The xx and The Maccabees.

The academy is undertaking a £30 million project to refurbish its school buildings which began earlier this summer and is due to be completed next year. The project will provide new sports facilities – including a new four-court sports hall, an activity studio for classes such as boxing and dance, and three new outdoor games areas. The school will also have a brand new art space on the top floor.

July 9, 2014