Welcome

The Aldridge Foundation is proud to be the lead Sponsor for the proposed new Academy in Kensington. If it goes ahead, it will be our fourth Academy.

My charitable Foundation harnesses entrepreneurship as a catalyst for social change, helping young people to reach their potential and improve their communities.

We want to instil an entrepreneurial mindset, where people strive to take action, solve problems and reject the status quo, giving young people a fresh view about education, themselves and the world around them.

We embed that entrepreneurial spirit in everything we do, by focusing on key entrepreneurial attributes: passion, creativity, teamwork, risk-taking, determination and problem solving.

My life has been shaped by my ability to take the right kind of risks and be confident in doing so. I wasn’t frightened of failure when I started out, or reluctant to think differently. In my view, resilience, teamwork and creativity are the marks of the genuine entrepreneur. These attributes have helped me every day of my working life. It doesn’t matter if you want to set up a company, or work with a group of volunteers to improve your street – an entrepreneurial mindset is a major asset, and every young person can benefit from developing this mindset as they grow up.

Everyone should have access to a good education. What do I mean by ‘good’? A good education gives people skills and qualifications, and it instils confidence, along with preparing young people for the challenges of life. Everyone has the right to expect an exciting, engaging and relevant education, regardless of who they are, or where they live.

Sir Rod Aldridge OBE, Chairman, Aldridge Foundation

We are delighted to be proposing a brand-new Academy in North Kensington. Its construction would help meet the demand of local students for a high-quality local education.

We have high ambitions for the Academy. We want to see it help to develop a passion for learning and an enterprising spirit among students, staff and members of the local community. It will offer an education that focuses emphatically on providing opportunities for success for all, whatever their aptitudes.

Such a new school would lie at the heart of the local community, playing a key role in improvements planned for the Latimer area.

The Sponsors have the vision but this would be your Academy. We have set out some of our ideas in this document but, with your active help, we can make it even better.

Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell, Leader, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea