Sir Gavin Williamson visited King Alfred School in Lower Gornal and learned more about the school’s unique focus on classical education.
Sir Gavin met with co-founders Tom Bowen and Headteacher Hayley Bowen and spoke about their mission to offer an alternative method of education to families in South Staffordshire. The school is in its third year of operation, and it is looking to move premises in the near future so it can extend its offering to secondary education.
Classical education originates in Ancient Greece and Rome and is structured as a three-part process that coincides with a child’s natural development. First, the child builds a foundation of knowledge, then they learn to think critically, before finally grasping skills such as public speaking and persuasive writing.
Sir Gavin said: “It was great to visit King Alfred School and to meet the school community. As a former Secretary of State for Education, I particularly enjoyed learning about the school’s distinctive teaching methods and how this benefits students. It is fantastic to see that families in South Staffordshire have so many choices when it comes to their children’s education.”
Thomas Bowen said: “The King Alfred School was set up by local parents to provide local children with a classical education at as low a price as possible. A classical education is the means by which we pass on the cultural inheritance of Western civilisation by studying the greatest achievements in Literature, History, the Arts and Sciences from the classical era to the present day.”
