Meet the new freshers: kids as young as 11 at University of Birmingham school

The doors will be open to some younger than life students next year


Fresh-faced kids as young as 11 will be on campus from next year.

The University of Birmingham’s Selly Oak school will be open from 2015, allowing local kids to get a taste of uni life seven years before they’re old enough to go.

The school will work with and benefit from University of Birmingham trainee teachers who will teach alongside fully qualified, full-time staff.

Over 2,000 eager parents have already registered their child for the school, but there are only 350 places available.

And now the University faces a backlash from undergrads who are worried the school will impact on their degree.

The digital plan of the school

The school, which is being built on the Selly Oak campus, has upset some Drama students concerned about their rehearsal space.

Drama enthusiast and student actor Carys Wehden said: “The new University of Birmingham school is on the Selly Oak campus which is used for Drama students like myself.

“Instead of using the area for the school, this space could have been used for Drama students as we are constantly looking for places to rehearse as spaces are extremely limited for every year group.”

Others are annoyed by the prospect of hundreds of additional school children in the area.

Miserable third year Law student Rob said: “I’m not really bothered about whether or not the University is spending money on the project, I just don’t like the idea of hundreds of kids roaming around.

“This is supposed to be a University campus, not a playground.”

In response to the concerns raised, a University spokesman said: ‘The University of Birmingham School’s sixth form will be using some space on the top floor of the OLRC building next to the School.

“Drama students had previously had the use of a computer cluster and three seminar rooms in that space, and one of these rooms was often used for practical work such as scene building.

“Working in close collaboration with the Drama department, additional space more suited to the needs of the department has been secured for both teaching and practical work elsewhere on the Selly Oak site.

“This includes two teaching rooms in Alan Geale House and five flexible spaces in the Charles W Gillett Centre which can be used for a wide range of activities including scene building, props, read-throughs and rehearsal.”

The scheme run jointly by the government and University is expected to take off across the UK, but only at universities where the quality of teacher training is rated “outstanding”.

University isn’t the place for kids

The new School Principal Michael Roden said:  ‘The University of Birmingham School is the only one of its kind in the country and has many benefits.

“It uses the expertise of the University to create a new model for delivering an outstanding education in a city that is desperately short of secondary schools.

“It will enable teachers and academics across the University to work together to find ways to link A Level teaching more closely to the demands of higher education and to share that experience with schools across the UK.

“It enhances the general reputation of the University of Birmingham among the community, regional and national business leaders, academics, politicians, and alumni.”

Birmingham Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Eastwood, was equally supportive of the project.

He said: “This is a very significant time in the University’s history and ensures we extend our commitment to our founder Joseph Chamberlain’s vision of establishing a ‘great school of universal instruction’ in Birmingham.

“This exciting initiative will not only enable us to share our values and have a positive impact on students from across Birmingham from as young as 11, it will also ensure we develop the next generation of inspiring teachers for our region and the country.”

The £23 million Birmingham school will be funded by the Department of Education and will be financially independent of the University – but the University has already said it will contribute £3 million towards it.

The majority of pupils will come from Selly Oak, but kids from Hall Green, Small Heath and the Jewellery Quarter will also be in the catchment area.

There are currently only 350 places available, but this is expected to rise to 1,150 when the project is finished.

Plans for university-run schools were first announced in 2010, but universities stepped in at the last minute to prevent a trainee teacher shortage in schools.