PROSPECTIVE parents and the general public are being asked for their views to help shape Feltham’s first free school.

The team behind the Reach Academy has been stopping shoppers in the town centre since last week and has organised meetings to canvass opinion about the school, which was given the green light by the Department of Education last October. It is due to open in September.

Trustee Ed Vainker, who will be the school’s principal, believes the consultation is an ideal way for the community to help shape the team’s vision for the school, which will relieve pressure on the demand for school places.

He said: “The consultation is a statutory requirement but it’s also something we really want to do and we regard it as another opportunity to meet the community and find out what they are looking for in a new school.

“We’re going to be meeting people, talking to parents and getting their views so that we can really understand what the community wants and we can start more of the detailed planning.”

The Free Schools Programme allows teachers, charities, parents and education experts to open schools and the Reach Academy’s team of eight board members have been working hard to ensure the school is a success.

The academy will ultimately be a through school, for children from age four to 18. In its first year, it will take 60 reception pupils and 60 of secondary age. Applications are being accepted.

The team began the consultation last week and, although some free schools have attracted criticism in the past, Ed said they have so far received mostly positive comments.

“We haven’t had any negative feedback and I think there are a number of factors that have influenced that,” he said. “One reason is that we want to serve a community of highest need. With some free schools there is a perception that there’s a risk of them coming in and wanting to cherry pick pupils from a particular part of the community, but that is not at all our intention.

“It’s very clear that there is a real need for school places in Feltham so it isn’t a situation where we’re putting other local schools at risk – there are currently more children than there are school places.”

? Meetings for prospective parents are at Southville Children’s Centre, Bedfont, today (Friday), noon-1pm and 6-8pm, and tomorrow, 1-3pm, and at Belvedere House, Feltham, on February 4, 2-4pm, and February 8, 3-6pm. Consultation meetings for the whole community are today at Southville Children’s Centre, 1-2pm, and on February 8 at Belvedere House, 6-7pm.

? For more information about the school and its admissions arrangements, see www.reachacademyfeltham.com.