Second chance for practical learners

Oldham to get ‘studio school’

AN Oldham school for teenagers who can’t cope in the usual learning environment could be up and running within two years.

Oldham Council has put forward a proposal for a “studio school” — designed to help youngsters of all abilities who are not reaching their full potential.

They work with young people aged 14-19 and focus on work-related learning and teach teenagers how to run their own businesses, at the same time as combining work experience with learning qualifications in an environment closer to a workplace than a classroom.

The Government hopes the Oldham proposals will come to light and become reality by September, 2011, along with three other areas.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls said: “Studio schools offer students the opportunity to get the skills and qualifications they need through a more practical approach.

“There are lots of students who will learn better though developing their natural interest in business or practical skills rather than spending most of their time sitting in a traditional classroom.”

Although still in the early stages, council bosses say the project would put Oldham at the cutting edge of innovation in education and bring significant benefits to pupils in the area.

Simon Tucker, chairman of the Studio Schools Trust, said: “Studio schools are at the forefront of innovation in British education.

“They will offer a bold new approach to learning better suited to the needs of the significant number of young people in the country who are more practical learners.

“We hope that these first schools will only be the start, marking the beginning of a much larger studio schools movement.”