Dennis Sewell

Lessons from south London

Having transformed his inner-city primary, Greg Martin has bought a stately home in Sussex – and is preparing to turn it into a fully free state boarding school

Having transformed his inner-city primary, Greg Martin has bought a stately home in Sussex – and is preparing to turn it into a fully free state boarding school

We’re chatting poolside, which feels somewhat incongruous since this isn’t the Riviera or a spa hotel, but a primary school in Stockwell, one of the rougher districts of south London. Greg Martin, the school’s executive head, leans forward confidentially. ‘Look,’ he whispers, pointing to the door. ‘Here comes the middle class now.’

There’s a sudden inrush of boys and girls who seem familiar. Is it the Boden or the John Lewis catalogue they stepped out of? For sure, these children are not pupils at the Durand Academy. I have seen the photographs in the school office and mugged up on the demographic data: 40 per cent of Durand’s pupils live in overcrowded households, half qualify for free school meals and 95 per cent are from black or ethnic minority backgrounds.

These middle-class youngsters have come from their private prep schools for swimming lessons. Their parents pay for the privilege. Greg Martin takes their money and uses it to provide free swimming for the deprived children who attend his school. It is such simple transfers of resources from rich to poor, carried out without involving the state, which have been one secret of Durand’s success. As well as the pool, Martin has opened a private gym and health club and a restaurant, and developed one wing of his Victorian school buildings into luxury flats. Durand isn’t just a successful school; it’s a thriving business.

Some of the revenues from this activity have gone to reduce class sizes. Unlike most primaries, pupils at Durand are split into five streams. The cleverest are in classes of 20; the least able in classes as small as 12.

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