Purley school chosen for students' support (From Your Local Guardian)

Purley school chosen for students' support

8:10am Thursday 16th February 2012 in Croydon By Hardeep Matharu

Cambridge University students are putting their talents to good use by helping a Croydon school in a new initiative which will see them raising money for the school and mentoring its pupils.

The Affinity Project, set up by Cambridge undergraduates in October last year, will offer support to the independently-run Harris Academy Purley.

Fundraising schemes held by the Project at Cambridge University, will raise money to buy goods and services which the schools feels it needs. Its pupils will also have the chance to discuss careers and educational issues with individual student mentors studying at Cambridge.

The Project wanted to provide support to a secondary comprehensive affected by both the recent cuts to the education budget and last summer’s riots. But not everyone has agreed with the Project’s choice of school, with one article in the University’s newspaper Varsity arguing that a non-Academy in greater financial need should have been selected.

Joshua Levy, Affinity Project’s President, said he was happy with the choice because the Academy - while backed by Lord Peckham’s Harris Foundation - is state-funded and still in need of help.

He said: "There has been criticism, but in the eyes of the vast majority of the student population it was unwarranted. "In terms of funding per pupil, the Harris Academy receives and uses the same amount as a non-academy.

"We wanted to help a school with a positive story and one which is on the rise. The Harris Academy Purley has a story of hope and really stood out for potentially benefiting from our help."