Cultivating the wrong kind of affinity?

Questions over the choice of school involved in the Affinity project.

by Helen Charman

This article is 14 years old

Monday January 30 2012, 3:18pm

A student-run initiative, the Affinity Project, was launched on Tuesday night amid some questions over the choice of school for the project.

The Affinity project, which had its official launch on Tuesday night in Cindies, terms itself as "education helping education".

It aims to provide pastoral and financial assistance the Harris Academy Purley in Croydon that was affected by this summer's riots and the ongoing governmental budget cuts to education.

The school, however, is not affiliated to a local education authority, meaning the company that runs it- in this case the Harris Federation- can decide how much funding and support the school receives.

Members of the university and educational community have therefore questioned the project’s support of the school over a number of struggling comprehensive state schools that do not have the financial support of a company like the Harris Federation.

The project aims to provide pastoral and financial assistance to the school which was affected by this summer's riots and the ongoing governmental budget cuts to education.

The provision of financial resources to help with the purchase of equipment and facilities that the school has asked for in a wish list given to the project is the main aim of the raffle.

It has also started a "Skype-buddy mentorship" scheme, where student volunteers talk with a pupil from the school for an hour once a week, aiming to help the pupils not just with academia but also any personal or future goals they have.

Various events will be held, but the main way it plans to raise money is through a fortnightly lottery, where tickets will cost £1 and the prizes on offer will vary from vouchers to free meals.

Although the Academy is a state school that prides itself on taking students of all backgrounds and abilities, the fact that it is independently run raises questions about its need for funding.

The Academy is one of 13 in the country run by the Harris Federation, with Lord Harris of Peckham - the chairman and chief executive of Carpetright- the main sponsor of the scheme.

They invest in educational opportunities in London, and have so far overseen an investment of approximately £170m in buildings and facilities for the academies.

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