The Edgware School is set for demolition as part of the rebuild of the Stonegrove Estate. Principal Philip Hearne tells Matthew Nixson about his ambitious plans for the future.

Philip Hearne has a missionary glint in his eyes as he talks about ambitious plans to rebuild The Edgware School as the cornerstone of the community.

And his passion is clearly contagious. Passing students stop to speak about their excitement about the future of the Green Lane school. Youngsters come from a wide range of backgrounds more than 50 languages are spoken in the school but Mr Hearne believes they are linked by their commitment to achieve.

Over the next two years The Edgware School will be demolished to make room for estate improvements and then rebuilt with City Academy status on playing fields behind its current site.

Renowned architect Sir Norman Foster's firm is already being linked to the project, which says something about its scale and ambition.

"It costs about £16million to build a new school but we want £25million because we want to build a spectacular school," says Mr Hearne. "We want to equip it so it's state-of-the-art and it becomes the electronic hub for the community and give our youngsters the best chance they have got."

While £7.5million of funding is relatively secure £6million from the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) and £1.5million from school sponsor Peter Shalson the rest will come from selling off the site for housing. This will, in turn, unlock further DFES funding.

"We are very confident this will happen because it's in lots of people's interests for it to happen."

The school may take City Academy status as early as next year, becoming the borough's first, and allowing staff to concentrate on turning it into a business and information technology specialist.

"For the first time in our careers we get the chance to create a curriculum from scratch. The idea is to project that to the needs of our youngsters," says Mr Hearne.

In the meantime, he says, things are definitely improving. The school is making good progress according to a recent Ofsted report in connection with the Government's schools facing challenging circumstances initiative.

"The highest praise you can get is that the school is making good progress and that's what we got," Mr Hearne says. "Every lesson inspectors saw was at least satisfactory. When I came here just 75 per cent of lessons were satisfactory."

Inspectors also praised the prevailing attitude of mutual respect between staff and pupils and new initiatives such as 'target setting' meetings with pupils and parents.

Mr Hearne believes technology is vital for equipping students for the future. The school currently has five pupils per computer, with plans to increase the ratio to four pupils per computer by next September. He is even considering trailblazing ideas like supplying a computer to every family when their child joins the school. This has already been taken up by some American schools.

"It's a phenomenal amount of money but it's these kids' futures so let's find a way to do it. That's why I like working with Peter Shalson because that's his attitude."

Whatever the future holds for The Edgware School, Mr Hearne is confident it will be the result of a team-effort.

He adds: "The community here is quite amazing people have done far more than I ever asked or believed they would do."

December 24, 2001 13:00