Education Committee to take evidence on ‘Jamie’s Dream School’
21 June 2011
Committee to meet teachers and students from the recent Channel 4 series 'Jamie's Dream School'.
Following the recent Channel 4 series 'Jamie’s Dream School', members of the House of Commons Education Select Committee will be meeting teachers and students from the programme in a one-off public session on Tuesday 21st June.
Witnesses
At 10am, the Committee will take evidence from five of the students at Dream School. At around 10.45am, the witness stand will be taken by six of the Dream School teachers. The session will take place in Committee Room 8, Palace of Westminster.
- John D’Abbro OBE, currently headteacher, New Rush Hall Group
- Jazzie B OBE, DJ, entrepreneur and musician
- Mary Beard FBA, Professor of Classics, University of Cambridge
- Alvin Hall, financial adviser, author and broadcaster
- Dr David Starkey CBE, historian and broadcaster
- Lord Winston, Professor of Science and Society, Imperial College London
Purpose of the session
Whilst Dream School only had twenty students, many of the challenges faced by them and their teachers are found across the UK and in other schools and colleges as well. The Education Committee regularly meets with representatives from across the education sector, including students, parents, teachers, social workers, inspectors and academics.
On 21st June, committee members will therefore seek to gain a different perspective from the Dream School staff – who are not trained teachers but who gave up their time to the project – and from students who, for whatever reason, did not achieve during their formal schooling.
Amongst the issues the committee will explore are behaviour and discipline (a recurring theme in the series), curriculum and qualifications (including the importance of creative and practical learning), and teacher training and autonomy (in light of the Government's Free Schools and Academies programmes).
Background
In the series, chef and broadcaster Jamie Oliver founded a school for two months where twenty young people without formal qualifications, or who had experienced trouble at school, were taught by a group of eminent experts from a range of fields, in an attempt to re-engage the young people with learning. The Education Committee wants to hear the students' and teachers' experiences of Dream School, and the lessons they learnt from it, as well as the impact it has had on their lives since.