New Liverpool secondary school and sixth form to open

Liverpool is set to welcome a new secondary school under the government’s free schools programme.

Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy will have 800 places for pupils aged 11-18 and it is one of 15 new schools nationally approved under the programme.

The school will be opened by not-for-profit multi-academy trust, Star Academies, which runs 31 schools across the country.

During its opening year, the new school will admit an intake of 120 pupils in Year 7 and will continue to admit a new intake of Year 7 pupils at the beginning of each academic year. Once open, its sixth form will have a capacity of 200 places.

The school will offer a broad and balanced academic curriculum along with a diverse leadership programme to inspire its pupils to engage in charitable activity and social action.It will also be the city’s first school to have a Muslim faith designation. However, it will not operate a faith-based admissions policy and will welcome children of all faiths and none.

A location for the new school has not yet been decided, however, Liverpool City Council are responsible for identifying a site.

Sir Hamid Patel CBE, chief executive of Star Academies, said: “Wherever they live and whatever their background, children deserve a high quality education. We are delighted that our application to open a new secondary school has been approved. Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, Liverpool will help to unlock the potential of thousands of young people in Merseyside.

“The government’s free schools programme continues to inject innovation and creativity into the school system. We’re delighted our new school will be part of the latest programme and we look forward to working with our local partners and communities to enable more young people in Liverpool to receive the quality of education and aspirational opportunities they deserve.”