What is a free school?
Free schools are independent, state-funded schools. They have the same legal status as academies.
Will free schools be able to make a profit?
No. Free Schools can only be set up and owned by charities. The school will be run by the Head and their leadership team and they will be answerable to a Board of Trustees.
Are free schools selective?
No. Free schools have to follow the new admissions code like all state-funded schools.
If APSoL opens, will that mean less money for the other schools in the area?
No. Funding for free schools will be equivalent to the funding of maintained schools and academies in the same local authority area. The opening of a free school does not mean that the overall funding available in an area goes down. However, the total funding an individual school receives will depend on the number of pupils attending.
Will APSoL be inspected by Ofsted?
Yes. All free schools are subject to inspection in the same way as other academy category schools. While the first full Ofsted inspection will not happen until the school has been open for three years, the school is inspected by Ofsted before it opens to make sure everything is in place to open successfully. The school will also have regular visits from the Department for Education before its first inspection.
Have you chosen a Head for APSoL?
We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Principal Designate, Marta Correia, who will join the APSoL team in April 2020.
Where will the school be located?
A phenomenal site has been secured for our school in Wandsworth High Street.
How will the school be accountable?
The school will be run by a Board who will be accountable to the Academy trust which oversees the school. In addition, the school will also be accountable to the Department for Education through the terms of its Funding Agreement.
Have you conducted and concluded the Section 10 Consultation process?
Yes. Please find the report here.
Does this school charge fees?
No. There are no fees to attend APSoL. In this respect APSoL is the same as any other state school parents may be considering.
Will there be before and after school activities?
Yes. At APSoL, we recognise that before and after school care are vital for working parents/carers and enable them to have more flexibility around drop-off and pick-up. Beyond this, we consider extra-curricular activities to be as important to our pupils’ learning as school day activities and will ensure that these activities are engaging and complement the work that pupils undertake in the classroom.
Will you be offering other year groups in 2020, aside from the Reception classes?
No. Admissions to the school are taking place where demand for places has been identified. APSoL is starting with two Reception classes with 60 children in 2020. Each year we will add 60 more places and open an additional year group, meaning that in 2021 we will have Year 1 as well as Reception. This build-up will continue until our 7th year in operation when we have every year open between Reception and Year 6 open for admissions. We believe it is best to grow the school ‘organically’ to ensure that we can provide the very best education from day one.
Our child will be completing Reception and entering Year 1 in 2020 but we would like to enrol them in Reception again at APSoL. Is this an eligible way of entry into the school?
Yes. We will consider applications on behalf of pupils who have already completed Reception elsewhere. It is a matter of parental choice to have their child to repeat their Reception year.
This is the only school I want to apply for my child. Should I apply to others as backups?
Yes. We cannot guarantee that your child will be accepted to APSoL even if this is your first-choice school. In 2020 APSoL is unique in that parents are able to apply directly to the school as well as applying via the standard Local Authority route. Please find our application form here.
I live in one of the nodal areas but am unsure about the distance outlined in the Admissions Policy. Should I still apply?
Yes. While there is no guarantee that your child will be offered a place, an application to APSoL is essentially a ‘no risk’ option as it is made in addition to your application via the Local Authority.
Will you provide Portuguese language classes for older students who cannot attend APSoL?
Not during the first year of opening, due to space restrictions. We recognise that many parents/carers want their child to be exposed to language classes to enable them to become bilingual or improve their Portuguese literacy. While we will not provide Portuguese language classes in-house at the school in the first year of operation, we encourage parents/carers to look for classes local to them. Please find some resources here: http://e-portugues.co.uk/?page_id=6319
When are you hiring teaching staff?
We will be hiring teaching and senior staff throughout the spring and leading into the summer. Please keep an eye on our recruitment page to keep up to date with job posts and openings.
Will you open similar schools in other cities in the UK?
At the moment, there are no plans to open an Anglo-Portuguese School elsewhere as we are focusing on our school in London.
What are the language requirements for students?
We do not have any language requirements for our students. We recognise that all children will come from different backgrounds and that they may not have had access to the English or Portuguese language at home.
Will there be school buses to transport children to school?
At this time, we are looking into the potential to have school buses operating.
What does the APSoL logo represent?
Read about the Anglo-Portuguese School of London’s logo
How can I apply for a place?
Apply for a Reception Year place for 2020