It’s nearly five years since I last penned an article for this publication, following the approval for a new free school for boys in Blackburn: Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School (TIBHS). 

Since then, we’ve had a change of government, a vote to leave the European Union, and Tauheedul Education Trust (TET) has grown into one of the UK’s leading multi-academy trusts sponsoring faith and non-faith schools across the country. While all this has been going on, the first boys to enter that free school in 2012 have completed their secondary school journey, collecting their GCSE results on Thursday. 

And what results they are: 95 per cent of students achieved A*-C in maths and English, the government’s benchmark measure; 72 per cent attained the English Baccalaureate and students are on average achieving more than one grade higher than they had been predicted when they entered the school based on their prior attainment.

We are of course delighted for our students, who I know will go on to flourish in their chosen careers or through further study. More broadly, this marks an important moment to reflect on the success of the free schools programme. 

When I wrote in 2011, I outlined why we - TET - had decided to apply to open a free school, and the opportunities we thought it would offer young people. From the chance to launch a new school unburdened by the past, to increasing competition and thereby making everyone raise their game: I saw free schools as a vehicle to transform the educational landscape and drive up standards.

Positive contribution

TIBHS’ results show that the programme is fulfilling its promise. Yet free schools continue to be unfairly criticised and in some cases vilified. There have been instances of bad practice, but the GCSE results from some of the first free schools to open, including TIBHS, show that - when done properly - they are making a positive contribution to education provision in the UK. 

The debate must now move beyond the naysayers who claim free schools are merely vanity projects, and should instead focus on how can we maximise the opportunity presented by free schools offer and how can we make sure they are ‘done properly’.

I am certain that one of the main factors underpinning TIBHS’ success is the fact it is part of a multi-academy trust, and I believe this is where free schools are strongest. Operating as a single entity can work. However, as anyone in the profession knows, running a school is not easy and working alone makes the task far more challenging than if you can draw on the strength and expertise of a wider group, with a shared ethos and vision.

TIBHS is in Blackburn and close to TET’s first school, Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School (TIGHS), and we’re pleased to see the boys emulating the success of their female peers. This has in large part been driven by collaboration between the two schools, which can share resources and best practice to benefit students’ learning.

The schools also share a similar ethos, and the vision of the wider trust. We want our students to be the leaders of tomorrow. So, while academic excellence is crucial, contributing to society and developing skills beyond the classroom is just as important, particularly if our students are to compete for the top apprenticeships, university places and jobs.

Community service

Over the last four years each of the boys has completed at least 500 hours of community service. It gives students a sense of civic duty and helps develop skills which will be crucial in later life, as well as making a real difference to the communities we work in. 

Part of the reason we can undertake this initiative is the freedoms offered by the academies and free schools programme - we are not bound by the constraints of local authorities, so can be flexible in how we deliver education.

It is clearly working. Our students are achieving results as good, if not better, than some of the country’s best known fee paying schools. 

Social mobility is rightly a focus of the current government, and I think yesterday’s results show that free schools are one of the key tools currently available for boosting the life chances of young people, regardless of their background.

Young people from a small former mill town in the North of England - a description that would usually be followed by tales of deprivation and decline - have the academic results, and broader skills set to flourish and pursue whatever life they choose.

This is what the free school movement is all about - and shows its huge potential if done properly. Thanks to the programme we have a number of other free schools up and down the country where we are working hard to ensure students enjoy similar success in the coming years.

The last five years have not been easy. Lots of people have put in a lot of hard work to get us to where we are today. But as I said in 2011, when the first free schools were approved, this bold education initiative should be celebrated as a tool to drive up standards in education across the country.  

Hamid Patel, chief executive of Tauheedul Education Trust

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