We have been working relentlessly alongside the Department for Education (DfE) and their property advisors, LocatEd, to secure a site for the Anglo-Portuguese School of London. In common with a number of free school projects across London where land and buildings are at a premium, this has taken longer than we had hoped when the school was approved to the ‘pre-opening’ phase in autumn 2016.
We are delighted that we are now in a position to announce that two potential sites, both of which are suitable for establishing a first-rate learning environment for our primary school, have now been identified in the Lambeth, SW8 and the Wandsworth, SW18 areas. We are now working towards securing one of these but, as negotiations around securing a site are commercially sensitive, the Education and Skills Funding Agency stipulates that the details of potential sites must be kept confidential until a site has been confirmed. We will share details of the proposed location as soon as we are able.
A provisional opening date for our first Reception classes will be confirmed by the DfE once the site has been secured and once the time needed for obtaining planning permission and completing necessary building works or refurbishment has been assessed. We are disappointed that the children of many of those of you who originally supported our plans will now be too old to attend our school but it is your tremendous support which has got us to this stage and we thank you sincerely for this as our vision moves another step towards fruition.
Do you or your friends have a child aged two or under? We need your support!
As the school will be opening later than originally planned, we are required by the DfE to evidence the ongoing demand for admissions. As such, we are asking parents and carers with children aged two and under (due to start primary school in 2021 or 2022) to pledge their interest in a Reception place at APSoL via the short online form.
Please ask your friends with children aged two or under to register their support.
We are continuing to make good progress on other non-site related elements of our plans to ensure that we are ready to move quickly once a site has been secured and hope that you continue to be as excited as we are about working towards opening APSoL.
We will keep you informed of our progress through our website and on the APSoL Facebook and Twitter pages.
APSoL Team