On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring

On hearing about this during the course of a radio News Quiz it was easy to imagine this was some huge spoof. It isn't

"Britain’s most expensive state school is being built without a playground because those running it believe that pupils should be treated like company employees and do not need unstructured play time.

The authorities at the £46.4m Thomas Deacon city academy in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, due to open this autumn, also believe that the absence of a playground will avoid the risk of “uncontrollable” numbers of children running around in breaks at the 2,200-pupil school."

The school / education factory boasts a website where you may examine progress (?) of the building of Sir Norman Foster's challenging design.

Whilst we await the (inevitable) Thomas Deacon Massacre, you may contribute to the fund to supply copies of "De-Schooling Society" by the late and lamented Ivan Illich to the staff and Governers. Send any contributions to the Treasurer, Nigel Molesworth, Patel Towers - further information here or (for the impatient) here