6th January 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The private Swedish company Kunskapsskolan is set to open two new schools in south west London. Angela Harrison of the BBC has reported that Richmond Council will allow Kunskapsskolan to sponsor two new schools, which will be run as academies from August 2010. Academies are funded by the government, but are run independently, and are seen as a way to improve education standards across the UK.
Both the Labour government and Conservative party are admirers of the Swedish model of education, which focuses on personal one-to-one tuition, rather than the traditional classroom style of teaching. Students in Kunskapsskolan schools each have a personal trainer (a tutor), who works with the student to oversee both academic progress and pastoral care. Kunskapsskolan claim that this gives students a more flexible and tailored education.
Kunskapsskolan plan to open more schools throughout England, and hope that these two schools in Richmond will provide evidence of the benefit that their system provides.