A school will launch an unprecedented appeal tomorrow to create an accommodation centre for homeless pupils after discovering that a sixth former had spent four months sleeping rough in a London park.
The proposed centre at Quintin Kynaston school in St John's Wood, London, will have up to a dozen beds and will be open to students who have been made homeless as well as those who need a temporary place to shelter from a family crisis.
While there are a number of state boarding schools, the creation of accommodation for homeless pupils marks a significant departure. Quintin Kynaston is not the only school looking at a radical solution to the problem – an academy school in Kent is also exploring a residential option for its pupils.
Quintin Kynaston's headteacher, Jo Shuter, said: "We have currently got about 10 students in the sixth form who are living in hostel accommodation, and probably another 30 who are right on the precipice and could drop over.
"Sixteen to 18 is the most vulnerable age. That's the time when kids cope with significant hardship."
The £3m appeal to create Quintin Kynaston House will be launched with the backing of celebrities including Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal and England player, and Madness singer Suggs, who is a former pupil. The school is also appealing for experts who can help it to apply for charitable status and handle the legal aspects of a property purchase.
Robyn Kelly, 17, a pupil who moved to a young women's hostel after a row with her mother on New Year's Day, said: "It's impossible to do any work [at the hostel]. I spent this weekend at a friend's house trying to catch up. It's not only other residents making noise. There's no one there to help me if I get stuck.
"The kitchens aren't clean enough and I don't feel safe cooking in a place with shared fridges. Once, one of my cooking pots was stolen and for a few months I had to buy microwaveable meals and keep them in a cupboard."
The school fears homelessness among pupils is likely to get worse as cutbacks to social services and education spending start to affect them.
Every sixth former at Quintin Kynaston school currently claims the education maintenance allowance – a weekly payment of up to £30 for poorer teenagers staying on in the classroom that has been scrapped by the coalition.
Those claiming it will get it until the end of the academic year, but it closes to new applicants in January and will be stopped completely in the next academic year.
Homeless pupils at the school include a boy who was sleeping in Hyde Park when he joined to study for his A-levels.
"He was one of the brightest kids I've ever come across and he was sleeping in Hyde Park for four months," said Shuter.
"His mother had mental health issues and things went from bad to worse, until one day he got home and found all his stuff in a bag. She told him he couldn't come home.
"We got him into a hostel, which is where he still is. At least he's got a bed."
The Marlowe academy in Ramsgate is also looking at creating a residential unit after discovering several pupils were homeless two years ago.
Gabrielle Wilson, who works with the academy's sponsor and former Saga chairman, Roger De Haan, said: "There are a number of young people at any one time who are sofa-surfing because of a breakdown in the relationship with their families. I wouldn't say there's any more than half a dozen at any one time.
"The local FE college has a very similar problem, so there might be a need for a larger unit."
Its pupils leave home for a range of reasons including family breakdown – sometimes because a new stepfather moves in – and parental pressure to drop out of education after 16, Wilson said.
Quintin Kynaston school is rated outstanding by Ofsted, which noted in its latest report that it "works relentlessly to overcome barriers to learning … for some students the barriers are considerable".
EMA - Education Maintainance Allowance
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