School where parents and pupils will set goals together

Instead of traditional parents' evenings, pupils at the Hampton Academy in Richmond will join their parents and teachers twice a year to "set goals" and talk about their career ambitions.

The Hampton Academy, which opened on September 1 on the site of the former Hampton Community College, is sponsored by Swedish education provider Kunskapsskolan, which believes in "personalised learning".

The biggest changes already implemented affect year seven pupils, who joined the school three weeks ago.

They have individual timetables and move around the school to study subjects at different levels and times from their peers. Each pupil has a personal tutor whom they meet every week to decide which classes they will go to and when. New goals are written in a log book so parents know what their child is doing.

Principal Sue Demont said: "The changes have mainly affected the new year seven students. The rest of the school is working along more traditional lines because they have already started their secondary education.

"The first weeks of secondary school are always very different. You always get students who don't know where they are going and get lost. This has happened no more than normal with the new system."

Describing the planned "goal setting" days, Dr Demont said: "We won't have a traditional parents' evening after this year. The goal-setting will involve 20 minutes with a group tutor to have a more in-depth conversation. They set goals about where they would ultimately like to be, whether that is going to university, being a pilot, getting 8 A*s at GCSE or being a painter-decorator. It makes them think."

She said personal tutors will help decide which lessons children should be in each week. "Seven pupils might be directed to the top workshop and at the other end you might have four pupils who go to the learning zone to do reading." To make time for weekly personal tutorials the school day has been shortened and evening meetings have been cut to create four hours of free time in everyone's timetable.

The Hampton Academy is one of two new academies for 11- to 16-year-olds which are being run by the Learning Schools Trust in partnership with Pearson Education. The other one is Twickenham Academy.

Pearson, the UK's largest education company, is developing computer software just for the two academies, which will allow students to hand homework in online. The "portal" will also allow students to log on and take lessons anywhere at any time.