At Easter I became assistant headteacher of a brand new free school. I had never expected to join a start-up – still less one with a French specialism. La Fontaine Academy is an English-French bilingual school set up by a parents group committed to creating an outstanding school for their children.
The headteacher, Sebastien Chapleau, is a member of the same professional network as me, Future Leaders, and with a passion for educational equality, he was well-placed to make the parents’ vision a reality.
The students in the initial intake were from a variety of backgrounds, many from aspirational families who had supported the opening of the school, and some from less wealthy backgrounds. The numbers of free school meal and SEN students were below average – an easy ride on paper – but this changed over the course of the school’s first year as numbers increased, and the constant arrival of new students gave staff on-going challenges.
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