The
controversial free school programme has attracted some unexpected
founders. But Will Kennard of Chase and Status could be the most
surprising yet.
Kennard, whose band is best known for its – and this is not a technical description – big-stadium take on dubstep and drum'n'bass, will launch his specialist music school for 16- to 19-year-olds in September 2014. The application process for a place at East London Arts and Music (ELAM), in Tower Hamlets, opens at the end of the week.
This seems an odd move for a dance chart star, but Kennard has educational experience. After dropping out of university, he took jobs as a bell boy, waiter and shoe-shop assistant before seeing an advert in the local paper for part-time music teachers. He went along to the North Trafford College open day, and was signed up. He hadn't wanted to teach. "Truth be told, I was trying to make it myself as a musician. I didn't have any money. I got into [teaching] as a way to feed myself while I was trying to fund my own career development." But, he says, he "very quickly fell in love with it" and, from that, "the idea started brewing".
Kennard won't be teaching at the free school. He says he has worked daily for the past two years to submit the application. Sitting on the governing body will take up enough time, he thinks. (Chase and Status have just released their third album, Brand New Machine, and are about to go on tour).
He claims he is not worried by recent coverage of the Al-Madinah free school in Derby and others. "I hope the public's perception doesn't become more negative because of a few bad examples. I want ELAM to serve some of the poorest, most vulnerable young people in the country and give them the kind of access that only the privileged can have." He sees his role as "making sure that the school engages with the music industry". Universal, Sony and Warner have signed up as backers.
What sort of education did he have? "A very privileged education," he says, at St Paul's in London. After that came a brief stint at Manchester University, where he got to know Saul Milton, Chase to Kennard's Status.
So what do his fellow musicians make of his new move? Milton is "supportive". Plan B, who has his own educational initiative, "said he'd wished something like this had existed when he was young", says Kennard. "He lived in Forest Gate and had to go to a community centre in Camden just to play a guitar for free."
Kennard and Milton also work as producers – for X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, among others. Will ELAM be an X Factor-style school? "Success certainly isn't based on our graduates becoming pop stars," he says. "Our target is that 60% move into higher education, 40% into employment or paid vocational work. We are not trying to promote some fame academy here. It's about broadening people's horizons, giving them confidence in what they want to do." The school's administrator says this week's taster sessions have been oversubscribed. More will run in November. More than 200 prospective students have already registered their interest. Perhaps Kennard is on to something.
Kennard, whose band is best known for its – and this is not a technical description – big-stadium take on dubstep and drum'n'bass, will launch his specialist music school for 16- to 19-year-olds in September 2014. The application process for a place at East London Arts and Music (ELAM), in Tower Hamlets, opens at the end of the week.
This seems an odd move for a dance chart star, but Kennard has educational experience. After dropping out of university, he took jobs as a bell boy, waiter and shoe-shop assistant before seeing an advert in the local paper for part-time music teachers. He went along to the North Trafford College open day, and was signed up. He hadn't wanted to teach. "Truth be told, I was trying to make it myself as a musician. I didn't have any money. I got into [teaching] as a way to feed myself while I was trying to fund my own career development." But, he says, he "very quickly fell in love with it" and, from that, "the idea started brewing".
Kennard won't be teaching at the free school. He says he has worked daily for the past two years to submit the application. Sitting on the governing body will take up enough time, he thinks. (Chase and Status have just released their third album, Brand New Machine, and are about to go on tour).
He claims he is not worried by recent coverage of the Al-Madinah free school in Derby and others. "I hope the public's perception doesn't become more negative because of a few bad examples. I want ELAM to serve some of the poorest, most vulnerable young people in the country and give them the kind of access that only the privileged can have." He sees his role as "making sure that the school engages with the music industry". Universal, Sony and Warner have signed up as backers.
What sort of education did he have? "A very privileged education," he says, at St Paul's in London. After that came a brief stint at Manchester University, where he got to know Saul Milton, Chase to Kennard's Status.
So what do his fellow musicians make of his new move? Milton is "supportive". Plan B, who has his own educational initiative, "said he'd wished something like this had existed when he was young", says Kennard. "He lived in Forest Gate and had to go to a community centre in Camden just to play a guitar for free."
Kennard and Milton also work as producers – for X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, among others. Will ELAM be an X Factor-style school? "Success certainly isn't based on our graduates becoming pop stars," he says. "Our target is that 60% move into higher education, 40% into employment or paid vocational work. We are not trying to promote some fame academy here. It's about broadening people's horizons, giving them confidence in what they want to do." The school's administrator says this week's taster sessions have been oversubscribed. More will run in November. More than 200 prospective students have already registered their interest. Perhaps Kennard is on to something.
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