Established 2012 Headteacher Oliver Knight Phone +44 20 8319 3692 Gender Mixed-sex education | Type Free school Chair Jonathan Simons Founded 2012 | |
Founders Jonathan Simons, Tom Shinner and Sarah Jones Location Adair House
403 Shooters Hill Road
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Woolwich
London
SE18 4LH
England Address Adair House, 403 Shooters Hill Rd, London SE18 4LH, UK Similar Thomas Tallis School, The John Roan, Bexley Grammar School, Corelli College, Eltham Hill School | ||
The greenwich free school experience
Greenwich Free School is a coeducational secondary free school located in the Woolwich area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London, England. The school opened in September 2012 with an initial intake of 11-year-old pupils (academic year 7), with the school expanding admissions every year to become a full secondary school with a sixth form.
The school was co-founded by Jonathan Simons, head of education at the think-tank Policy Exchange, and Tom Shinner, a policy adviser at the Department for Education. Jonathan Simons is the Chair of Governors. The school is advised by Dr Challoner's Grammar School, where Tom Shinner had been a teacher.
Greenwich Free School offers 100 places per year group, with 97 places being filled for year 7 in 2012. In March 2013 it was reported that Greenwich Free School had received 640 applications for its 100 places for year 7 in 2013.
The school operates an open catchment area, but offers places according to the Fair Banding System operated in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The Fair Banding System places pupils in one of the five bands based on their score in tests taken in primary school. The school then allocates 20% of places to pupils in each band. In the event of over-subscription for places, priority is given to pupils living nearest to the school.
Greenwich Free School operates an extended school day from 7.50am to 5.30pm, which includes a homework hour and compulsory extra-curricular activities. The school also operates a strict discipline policy, which includes a ban on pupils having mobile phones on school grounds.
In December 2013, Lee Faith, the school's first headteacher resigned. The first Ofsted inspection, made in April 2014, assessed that the school required improvement. A new headteacher joined the school on 1 June 2014. At the latest Ofsted inspection on 17 May 2016, the school's overall effectiveness was judged to be "Good".