(2007-05-30) Uk Knowsley Converting Schools To Independent Study Centers

Knowsley Council in Merseyside, which - for years - has languished near or at the bottom of exam league tables, has abolished the use of the word to describe secondary education (High School?) in the borough. It is taking the dramatic step of closing all of its eleven existing secondary schools by 2009. As part of a L150m government-backed rebuilding programme, they will reopen as seven state-of-the-art, round-the-clock, learning centres.

The style of learning will be completely different. The new centres will open from 7am until 10pm in both term-time and what used to be known as the school holidays. At weekends, they will open from 9am to 8pm.

Youngsters will not be taught in formal classes, nor will they stick to a rigid timetable; instead they will work online at their own speeds on programmes that are tailor-made to match their interests. (Independent Study?)

Children will be able to study haircare, beauty therapy, leisure and tourism, and engineering as well as the more traditional academic subjects.

They will be given their day's assignments in groups of 120 in the morning before dispersing to internet cafe-style zones in the learning centres to carry them out.

"The lack of progress, catastrophically high levels of pupil absenteeism, stubbornly high levels of youth unemployment and the rapidly changing nature of the labour market drew a political response both locally and nationally," says a council document outlining the reasons for the changes.

The Teachers Union-s are unlikely to oppose the plan as - unlike the Academies Programme (Charter School) - the shake-up does not hand control of the institutions to the private sector.

Interesting thread started by father of future-teacher.