Olympic Stadium School Study Announced

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell and Schools Minister Jim Knight today announced that they have commissioned a review to explore the possibility of establishing a school at the Olympic stadium site after the 2012 Games. The review will advise Ministers this summer. It will be led by Ian Stewart, who retired last year as Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire County Council, and has previous experience both as a senior civil servant in the departments responsible for education and as a footballer and football manager.

The review’s terms of reference are “To advise Government on potential options for securing an educational legacy at the Olympic Stadium site after the 2012 Games”. The review will consult widely among the many expert stakeholders: sporting, educational, local and Olympic.

The Ministers emphasized that the proposal was designed to complement, not to replace, the legacy use of the stadium field of play itself as a sporting venue. Negotiations are continuing to secure football and rugby teams as ‘anchor’ tenants, alongside the planned summer use of the stadium for athletics. Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said:

“The stadium has the potential to inspire future generations with the Olympic ideals of young people striving for excellence. A school designed to nurture sporting and related achievement could be an excellent legacy embodying those ideals.

But we need to be sure that any new provision would be viable as part of future plans for sport and for the Olympic Park. The review will approach its task with an open mind, looking to grasp the unique opportunity provided by the site but also to ensure that any proposal goes with the grain of what the people of the area need and want”

Schools Minister, Jim Knight said:

“We are determined to ensure that the country obtains the maximum educational benefit from the Games, both in east London and across the nation. The stadium site needs to be part of the overall plans for education in east London, including plans for training young people for employment and for further and higher education.

“Our initial legacy planning work shows strong support for an educational legacy in the Olympic Park, and we would like to explore the option of the stadium site as part of that. The review will provide us with an expert assessment of the role which learning on the stadium site could play in time to inform the legacy plans we are now developing for the Park”.

Source: Department for Culture, Media And Sport

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