A talking head
Tuesday June 1, 2010
The head of the new Hammersmith Academy has spoken of his excitement at plans for the new school are coming together.
Gary Kynaston, 41, officially took over as head of the academy in April and since then has been working from an office at St Paul’s Girls’ School in Brook Green that he shares with personal assistant, Kate Goatley. On the whiteboard in the room is a spider diagram and a ‘to do’ list, which is slowly being ticked off.
“We are very busy as we’re starting from scratch but it’s all very exciting,” he says. “St Paul’s and our joint sponsor, Mercer’s, have been incredibly generous letting us use this space. It’s meant that we’ve been able to communicate with residents and have initially met the local community, and there’s a positive feel and vibe from them. We’ll be meeting different groups to talk to them because we want people to communicate clearly what their hopes and fears are. We’re also looking to link up with local IT and media companies in the area to see how we can work with them.”
“Things are progressing fantastically well: the building is really on track, with the steel structure completed and the floor slabs laid down. It’s very substantial and feels like it’s all actually happening now.”
Gary, who lives in west London with his wife and three young children, came to the role from Westminster City School where he was deputy head. He has been teaching since 1991 and knows H&F well, having been brought up nearby and having taught at Phoenix High School.
Next job on his list is to visit local primary schools to meet head teachers and parents, with a road show being planned for later this month, complete with a presentation and question and answer session, followed by an open evening later in the year.
Gary says: “It’s a great opportunity to have an impact on the life chances of children in west London. It’s my firm belief that students of all abilities have the potential to succeed and it’s my responsibility to see that this happens. It’s an exciting time educationally. We know so much more about what inspires students and the quality of teaching has improved. We’re exploring different aspects of learning to inspire the students to improve ability, skills and talents, and we want to develop a life-long love of learning at the academy.”
Admissions for the specialist ICT academy, which is expected to be completed by June 2011, open in September for entry next year. Entry will be open to two groups of 120 pupils in Years 7 and 12 only, and then will grow annually by one year group.
Gary is now beginning to recruit an initial team of between 20 and 25 members of staff who will sign up to the school vision of ‘inspiring, creating and succeeding’ when the majority of them join next April to plan the curriculum.
He says: “We want to develop core skills using creative media and IT, and such as in English and maths and also in financial business studies. We’re offering as wide a curriculum as possible using different forms of media and approaches to learning, with a focus on personal development.”
And despite the huge mountain of tasks ahead, Gary is not fazed by a little hard work. “You suddenly realise how many aspects there are to creating a new school,” says Gary. “It’s the most exciting challenge though, to create an ethos of success around the school and make sure every child knows that they matter and can be a success. I always say it’s not where you start that’s important, it’s where you’re going.”
