Derby school aims to promote Sikh virtues and British values to pupils

Derby school aims to promote Sikh virtues and British values to pupils

Derby :”Sikh virtues and British values” are combining in a new city school to give pupils an all-round education, according to its founders. Akaal Primary School is Derby’s latest free school – and the city’s first Sikh school.Dr Daljit Singh Virk, chairman of the school’s governors, has been behind the drive to create the school, which he said “provides a values-based education”.He added: “We’re creating an outstanding school where all pupils will achieve highly.“Our curriculum will give pupils exceptional all-round development and a life-long love of learning, as well as key skills in literacy and numeracy.“Our curriculum will give an all-round education, the same as you will find in most schools. The children concentrate on phonics, literacy and maths, but our assemblies have a Sikh story about values such as truth and compassion, and we include stories on the same themes from other religions as well.“Sikh virtues and British values sit alongside each other very well – there is no difference between them.”For now, the school is housed in a smart two-storey temporary buildings at the rear of the National Sikh Museum between Princes Street and Harrington Street.A former factory has been demolished to make way for the school, which will be on the site for a maximum of two years.Dr Virk said: “We are hopeful that the paperwork will be sorted fairly quickly, which will allow us to have the former Sunnyhill Infant School site. The Government is liaising with Derby City Council on it.“I attended a reception with Prime Minister David Cameron and he was keen that the project should move ahead as quickly as possible.“Having the school open is a dream come true and we’re looking forward to welcoming more pupils as time goes on.”By 2020, the school hopes to house 420 pupils aged four to 11, but its intake this year is for reception and year-one pupils only, with spaces available for anyone who still wishes to enrol.Head teacher Julie Kennedy said: “Having smaller numbers at present means we are able to work closely with the pupils and they will become our ambassadors for future generations of pupils. We will eventually have four classes in this building.”Wearing uniforms of white polo T-shirts and blue sweatshirts or cardigans, pupils gather in one classroom for morning breaks.The rest of the time, they are in their own year-group classrooms, which have large touch screens, computers and a variety of books and other equipment.Mrs Kennedy said: “Our pre-opening inspection went well and we will be ready for when Ofsted staff return in the next 18 months to see how things are going.“It’s early days but there is such a good feeling about the place. Children are keen to come to school.“Uncertainty over acquiring land for the school probably led some parents to hesitate in sending their children here this year.“But now they can see we’re open, I would imagine many of them will want to see what we’re about.”

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