The New School at West Heath

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The New School at West Heath (often referred to simply as The New School) is an independent school for children for whom mainstream schooling has broken down, for varying reasons. While many are not mentally or physically disabled, many have been through harsh circumstances and suffer from related things such as emotional trauma, which fits with the school's motto, "Rebuilding damaged lives." The school is based on Ashgrove Road, Sevenoaks, England on 31 acres of parkland for its use, all of which is on lease from Mohamed Al-Fayed, who has contributed almost £3 million GBP towards the school. Its current Principal is Valerie May. The School is a registered charity with the Charity Commission (Registered Charity Number 1069677, West Heath 2000 Ltd, Company Registration Number 3571239).

The building formerly housed the school at which Diana, Princess of Wales received her childhood education, as well as her sister Sarah (now Lady Sarah McCorquodale). It was then called West Heath Girls' School and was a very exclusive girls' school with around 100 boarding pupils.

It was founded in its current form on 14 September 1998 and at the start the school had around 30 pupils. At the time it was named The Beth Marie Centre (for traumatised children), this was a relocation from its previous premises in the centre of Sevenoaks.

Boarding began in 2000.

"The school is becoming a real living memorial to the life of Diana, Princess of Wales and her companion Dodi Al Fayed." --Valerie May, Principal

Contents

[edit] History and grounds

The old school house was originally built in the 18th century and was the home of the Elliot family.

It became a school in 1932, at the time being West Heath Girls' School, a very exclusive girls' school with around 100 boarding pupils. Both Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales and her sister Sarah (now Lady Sarah McCorquodale) spent their childhood education there. Other notable alumni include Issy Van Randwyck, and Tilda Swinton.

In the 1990s, the school got into financial difficulties due to falling numbers of pupils attending the school, and was placed into receivership in 1997.

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund wanted to buy the school at first, but decided against it, and Mohamed Al Fayed stepped in to buy West Heath for £2,300,000 on the 20th May 1998 as new premises for the Beth Marie Centre. He had previously seen for himself work being done by the Centre's founder, Valerie May, in a collection of portable buildings. Al Fayed later pledged to contribute a further £550,000 towards equipping the school and visits frequently, continuing to show his support for the school.

"I am surprised that the Princess Diana memorial fund, with all its millions in the bank, did not show a greater interest in this project," Al Fayed said in a statement. "I believe it to be a far more fitting tribute to her work than putting her name on tasteless souvenirs." [1]

The school was founded in its current form, with Valerie May as Principal, on the 14th September 1998 and at the start the school had around 30 pupils. Boarding began in the year 2000, and there are six boarding houses, each named after one of the Trustees (see Management, below); Sleep, Sissons, Astor, Ruth, Hunniford and Esther.

As well as the Old School a more modern teaching block was built to increase the classroom capacity and overall space for the school.

[edit] Management

Founding patron: Mohamed Al-Fayed, of Harrods fame and father of the late Dodi Al-Fayed

The school is governed by a board of nine Trustees/Patrons (who are the tenants of the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation):

School management:

  • Principal: Valerie May (B.A. Hons.)
  • Deputy Head: Alan Baker
  • Head of Education (school): Chris Moffet
  • Head of Care (boarding): Bill Whillock
  • Head of Post-16 (school support at colleges): Sue Shepherd

[edit] General information

Unlike many schools, Ofsted inspection documents are not available online. Ofsted inspection, Policy, syllabuses, schemes of work and National Curriculum documents can be made available on request to the Head of Education, Chris Moffet (chris.m@westheath.kent.sch.uk).

  • Criteria of students - 11 to 19 years old, female or male.

Possible disabilities include: Acute stress disorder, Addiction, Affective spectrum, Agoraphobia, Anorexia nervosa, Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD), Asperger syndrome, Autism spectrum/High functioning autism, Avoidant personality disorder, Bipolar/Bipolar spectrum, Bulimia nervosa, Conduct disorder, Developmental delay, Clinical depression, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Epilepsy, Exhibitionism, Gender identity disorder, Genetic disorders, Hysteria, Nervous breakdown, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), Oppositional defiant disorder, (ODD), General anxiety disorder (GAD), Impulse control disorder (Kleptomania, Intermittent explosive disorder, Pyromania, Pathological gambling, Trichotillomania), Emotional or behavioural difficulties, Pathological demand avoidance (PDA), Panic attacks, Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Self-harm (SH), Separation anxiety disorder/School refusal, Selective mutism, Semantic pragmatic disorder, Social anxiety (Social phobia), Tourette syndrome, and other various mental health problems.

However many of the disadvantaged students have never had the opportunity to get a formal Statement of Special Needs (SSEN) for various reasons.

  • Costs - £15,790 p/a (per annum) for day students, £42,972 p/a for residential (boarding) students.
  • Class size - 8 maximum.
  • Funding - The school has no state school status, however it is indirectly funded through the Local Education Authorities (LEAs) of individual students, Social Services, Health authorities, bursary, or self-funded. Each student has an annual review each year to determine if their needs are being met and what changes if any need to be made in their education. Recently the school has had to cut back hard on funding due to less charity donations than previously, and Al-Fayed ceasing to fund the school.

It received some money from Children in Need in 2004, and teachers and students have also partook in fund-raising activities for Children in Need as a whole, for example sponsored silences, head shaves, makeup-for-the-day and so on.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] 2005

GCSE grades:

[edit] 2004

GCSE grades [2]:

  • Number of students aged 15: 20
  • Students achieving 5 or more GCSE passes (A*-C): 0%
  • Students failing to achieve at least one entry level qualification: 20%
  • Average total GCSE point score per 15 year old: 121.3 (for comparison, the nearest non-Special Educational Needs school, Sevenoaks School: 498.2)

[edit] 2003

GCSE grades [3]:

  • Number of students: 31
  • Students aged 16 achieving 5 or more GCSE grades A*-G: 89% (unpublished which of this is passes, e.g. A*-C)
  • Average total point score per 16-year-old: 23.8 (for comparison, the nearest non-SEN school, Sevenoaks School average: 66.8)
  • Pupils with Special Educational Needs: 100%

[edit] 2002

Key Stage 3 tests [4] (not GCSE):

  • % students achieving level 5 or above in English test: 0%
  • % students achieving level 5 or above in Maths test: 22%
  • % students achieving level 5 or above in Science test: 0%
  • % 15-year-olds achieving 5 or more grades A*-C: 4%
    • 1998-2002 decrease in % of 15-year-olds getting 5 or more A*-C: 17%
  • % 15-year-olds achieving 5 or more grades D-G: 32%
  • % 15-year-olds failing to achieve at least 5 G grades: 64%

[edit] 2000

GCSE grades [5]:

The New School at West Heath's GCSE grades in comparison to all other schools in Kent and England as a whole in 2000). Crown copyright, Department for Education and Skills.
The New School at West Heath's GCSE grades in comparison to all other schools in Kent and England as a whole in 2000). Crown copyright, Department for Education and Skills.
  • Students achieving 5 or more GCSE grades A*-C: 33%
  • Students failing to achieve at least 5 GCSE passes: 67%
  • Students failing to achieve any GCSE passes: 17%
  • Pupils with Special Educational Needs: 100%
  • Pupils with SEN with statements: 61.9%
  • Pupils with SEN without statements: 38.1%
  • Number of students: 42

[edit] 1999

GCSE grades [6]:

  • Students achieving 5 or more GCSE grades A*-C: 21%
  • Students failing to achieve at least 5 GCSE passes: 79%
  • Students failing to achieve any GCSE passes: 11% [7]

[edit] Post 16

As well as the school teaching students from Years 7 to 11, the school operates a section allowing students to get "support" from the school while going to college - the school itself does and cannot afford staff to teach A-level quality subjects itself. Many continue boarding at the school while going to college from there. Due to many of the students living far away, once they start a College course while staying with the Post 16 section of the school, it is very hard for them to move to another college if they change their mind and wish to stop boarding at the school.[citation needed]Often students are given the option of abandoning their college course and the qualification they have worked for a year on, or moving to another college and leaving the school.[citation needed]Most students just cannot afford their own transport[citation needed]and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) work on a yearly basis and will not help pay for transport if a student wishes to leave the school.

[edit] Fund a Child's Education (FaCE)

The New School has set up a fundraising drive, FaCE (Fund a Child's Education) to enable it to help enable children in need of the school to move from its very large waiting list of potential students. They appreciate any help, be it a donation, fundraising by a coffee morning, or corporate sponsorship.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links