| Motto | A school with a difference |
|---|---|
| Established | 1986 |
| Type | Free school |
| Head teacher | Derek Cassells[1] |
| Location | Cobbs Brow Lane Lathom Lancashire L40 6JJ England |
| DfE number | 888/6018 |
| DfE URN | 137498 |
| Ofsted | Pre-Academy Reports |
| Students | 135[2] |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | 4–16 |
| Website | www.maharishischool.com |
The Maharishi School (Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment)[3][4] is a non-academically selective free school in Lathom, Lancashire, UK.[1][5]
Contents |
The school utilizes "Consciousness-based Education". Its students learn the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) and practice it for three 10-minute sessions during the school day, which school officials say enables the students to be calmer, more focused and relaxed and improves their ability to learn.[6][7][8][9] The principles of the "Science of Creative Intelligence", developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, are part of the school's curriculum.[10] The school is located in a community that is in one of England's more affluent areas and is near a Transcendental Meditation movement community in Skelmersdale called Maharishi European Sidhaland.[11][12]
A spokesman for the Department of Education said the Maharishi School was "outstanding in almost all categories" and that the school "has a strong record of high academic achievement".[2] He cited an Ofsted report which says the school provides an "outstanding education" [2] and according to the school's web site, Ofsted reports its GCSE scores to be in the country's top 2.5 per cent.[13]
The school was founded in 1986 as an independent, fee-based school with 14 pupils.[10]
In 2009, the student body numbered 70, ranging in age from four years to 16 and their General Certificate of Secondary Education scores were reported to be double the national average.[3]
In 2011, it was one of 24 schools that applied for and received government funding as a flagship free school.[2][14][15] At that time the school's tuition fee was GBP 7,620 for its secondary school students. According to the school's Head Teacher, Derek Cassells, free school status allows the school the potential to double its attendance while retaining its character. As of September 2011, 135 students were enrolled.[1][2]
The school plans to open two branch schools in 2013 for 11- to 18-year-old students. One would be in Woodbridge, Suffolk, near a community of TM practitioners in Rendlesham,[16][17] and the other would be at Oldfield House in the London borough of Richmond upon Thames.[18] They would expand by "one year group at a time, with 20 pupils in each year".[19][20]
The school's 2011 qualification for government funding was criticized by the The Lancashire branch of the National Union of Teachers who called it the funding of the "education of the members of a religious sect" with links to a defunct political party. A spokesperson for the School responded to the criticism saying the school is run by an "independent charitable company" and its Consciousness Based Education approach is non-religious and has no links to any political party.[21] Further criticism came in June 2011 from the Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, John Pugh, and the Liverpool city council leader, Joe Anderson, both of whom attacked the government for funding the Maharishi School while depriving funds from mainstream schools. Labor MP Lisa Nandy made similar complaints in August and the British Humanist Association (BHA) voiced concerns about the school's "spiritual and 'pseudoscientific' teaching".[9][13][18] The school's headmaster, Cassells, said: "We bring a balanced curriculum and all we do is introduce a few minutes of mediation three times a day".[22] A Department of Education spokeman said "the Maharishi School, like all Free Schools, will enter pupils for the same exams as other state schools" and "will be open to all pupils of any or no faith"[2]
|
||||||||||||||||||||