Home Care In Westminster, CO

Parents are overwhelmingly against plan

Aicha Less

GOVERNORS at three schools say they want to proceed with a merger despite overwhelming opposition from parents.

Barrow Hill Junior School, Robinsfield Infant School and George Eliot Primary School announced plans last year to become St John’s Wood Primary School. If approved, a new school would initially be based in George Eliot and Barrow Hill before the lower school would move from George Eliot to new facilities on the Robinsfield site.

The move was pitched to parents as “getting ahead” of a predicted drop-off in pupil numbers in St John’s Wood in the future. State school pupils are in decline in central London due to shortage of affordable decent sized homes for families.

At Barrow 76 of 78 parents responded to say they disagreed with the plan.

Jeff Masters and Gabbie Joseph, co chairs of governors of Barrow Hill Junior, said: “You will see in these documents there is little question that parents and carers who responded to the consultation are opposed to the proposal in its current form. However, having explored alternatives, we believe the proposal still offers the best available route to a sustainable future for our school. We understand this decision may not be welcomed by all.”

The pupil rolls at each school were given at 82 per cent of capacity at Barrow Hill, 85 per cent at George Eliot, and 75 per cent at Robinsfield.

The responses, which have been published online, include one Barrow Hill parent who said: “Combining the schools raises serious concerns about pupil head-count exceeding the capacity of the proposed building. Overcrowding would negatively affect the learning environment and the quality of education for all students. The proposed merger will inevitably lead to redundancies among staff members who have dedicated their careers to supporting our children and fostering strong relationships with families.”

They also raised concern about the half-mile between George Eliot and Robinsfield Infant site.

Another said: “There is nothing wrong with these schools. Why cause the disruption to these children?”

The consultation report said 190 written responses were received across the three schools with an 85 per cent objection rate. George Eliot had 38 responses, 64 per cent of which were opposed to the merger, and Robinsfield 42, with 72 per cent against and 19 per cent in favour. The report stated: “Many responses questioned the rationale for the proposal, given the number of new homes being built in the area and the impact of VAT on private education both having the potential to raise demand.

“Some questioned the need for a rebuild of Robinsfield, and others whether the council had ulterior motives in removing children from the site.”

Westminster City Council deputy leader and cabinet member for children Aicha Less will now decide whether to progress with a box-ticking formal consultation. The city council will run its consultation for four weeks from April 22.

Koko to host prestigious ceremony

Heading for Ronnie Scott’s – Jacqui Dankworth

AFTER a short hiatus, Jazz FM’s annual awards are back this year, with singer Melody Gardot confirmed as this year’s deserving recipient of the prestigious Gold Award, which celebrates “extraordinary and sustained contributions to the world of music”. And Ms Gardot has certainly done that over a two-decade-long career.

The ceremony takes place on April 24 at Koko in Camden. The nominees for other gongs include many names familiar from this column – Ezra Collective (UK Jazz Act of the Year, which is a public vote), Nubya Garcia, Alice Zawadzki, Shabaka, Lakecia Benjamin and Meshell Ndegeocello (Album of the Year, another public vote; the latter pair are also up for International Jazz Act).

Of the Breakthrough Artist’s award, we have highlighted two of the three recently – pianist Sultan Stevenson and jazz and funk band Mama Terra (the third is highly accomplished neo-soul singer Ni Maxine). For a full list of Jazz FM nominees, see https://www.jazzfmawards.com Red carpet and music highlights will be played on the station on the night and the next day. Nominees Mama Terra has a new live album playing the music of Herbie Hancock (Chameleons, Acid Jazz), mostly from his iconic Head Hunters album. It contains a splendid sax-heavy version of Vein Melter, although its abrupt funk interruptus ending will probably send you back to the beginning for more. Mama Terra will be playing Herbie and more at the Pizza Express Soho on April 14. See: https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/whats-on/mama-terra

The man himself – Herbie Hancock, celebrating his 85th birthday – is over here this summer as part of promoter Serious’s Summer Jazz Season. He has a three-night residency at the Barbican on July 24/25/26. It’s been a glittering and expansive career – he’ll no doubt pack in as much as he can from the past six-plus decades of performing. Tickets: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2025/event/herbie-hancock

Other gigs that are part of the season include extraordinary prog-rock and Armenian folk-influenced pianist Tigran Hamasyan plus singer/songwriter/violinist Alice Zawadzki (June 16 – https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2025/event/tigran-hamasyan-the-bird-of-a-thousand-voices) and that great proponent of the art of the piano trio, Brad Mehldau (June 24 – https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2025/event/brad-mehldau-trio-with-felix-moseholm-jorge-rossy). For full details of the season and other jazz gigs see: https://serious.org.uk/whats-on/upcoming-events

My first exposure to the “nu wave” of jazz that features so heavily in the Jazz FM Awards was upstairs at the Camden Assembly four or five years ago, when jazz was still a minority (and relatively elderly) pursuit.

Pianist Ashley Henry was playing, supported by the supple fingers of Daniel Casimir on bass and a fiery Eddie Hick on drums. Here was a piano trio that, superficially at least, owed little to Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett or Brad Mehldau, although it shared an all-music-is-fair-game sensibility with the latter, roaming around hip-hop and funk, pulling in tunes from Naz and Solange to an audience that was young, diverse and dancing. For me, it was an eye-opening and exhilarating experience.

Since then, Henry has expanded his vision even further, co-opting a cast of well-known collaborators and releasing an EP (Easter) and two albums: the acclaimed Beautiful Vinyl Hunter (Universal) and, more recently, the equally well received Who We Are (Naïve). The latter includes some of my favourite artists as guests – sassy vocalist Judi Jackson, bright and brilliant trumpeter Theo Croker and scorching sax man Binker Golding (although he’s relatively restrained here), as well as some unfamiliar (to me) names – poet Aja Monet and rapper Mak. It’s a melange of funk, soul, rap, bossa. and jazz.

It might sound a bit scattershot and unfocused but Henry’s cascading, hook-rich piano means it all hangs together nicely. He also ventures into singing, even covering Nina Simone’s Mississippi Goddam, which again works because he channels the passion of that song through his angular, percussive solo. He will be featuring that record and no doubt earlier material in his live show at the QEH (he’s well outgrown the Assembly) on April 12. Tickets: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/ashley-henry/

Daughter of jazz aristocracy Jacqui Dankworth – parents: Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine – has a new album out soon, called Windmills (Perdido). A selection of mostly familiar songs (London by Night, The Windmills of Your Mind, Send in the Clowns) are given a fresh, invigorating lease of life by her pianist husband Charlie Wood’s arrangements, with backing from the BBC Big Band and two string ensembles.

The singer’s peerless control, tone and emotional depth are on full display here – as well as echoes of her mother’s phrasing and timbre – and it is highly recommended for anyone whose heart lies with classic sophisticated jazz. Jacqui is a guest of Ian Shaw for a Saturday Brunch at Ronnie Scott’s on April 12, where she will be telling stories of her (and no doubt her illustrious parents’) career and singing some favourites. Tickets: https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/saturday-brunch-songs-stories-with-jacqui-dankworth

Also set to appear in this new brunch slot is the estimable bassist Gary Crosby OBE, co-founder of the Tomorrow’s Warriors mentoring programme and therefore a jazz godfather to many of the current crop of young players. Gary recently celebrated his 70th birthday and he’ll be talking to Ian Shaw at Ronnie’s about his five decades on the bandstand on May 3 (https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/saturday-brunch-songs-stories-with-gary-crosby).

You can also catch him live at the fun, freewheeling and sometimes frantic Brick Lane Jazz Festival that inhabits 10 separate music venues (hence the frantic part), mostly based around the old Truman Brewery. It runs across the weekend of April 25-27 and tickets are moving briskly, so get in fast: https://www.bricklanejazzfestival.com (Note there is also a pre-festival launch party on April 16 at Ninety One Living Room, with Glasgow’s finest producer/DJ, Rebecca Vasmant, and her eight-piece Ensemble – https://91livingroom.com/about/).

The festival boasts a large and enticingly varied line-up that covers rising stars (Oreglo, Audrey Powne, Lox) and established names (Jay Phelps, Mark Kavuma, Xhosa Cole).

Gary Crosby’s slot is on the Sunday, at the Village Underground, and very tasty it sounds too. The project is called Africa Space Programme (it will come as no surprise that Sun Ra is an inspiration here) and it features tenor and soprano titan Denys Baptiste, a Tomorrow Warrior’s alumnus, and his fellow sax star Steve Williamson, who was instrumental in the sound of the seminal Jazz Warriors collective that, thanks to Gary (and Janine Irons), produced the TW initiative. I am expecting glorious, joyous, and uplifting sounds to fill the club.

And if you fancy a trip out of town, the Cheltenham Jazz Festival has a gold standard line up this year – Billy Cobham, Cassie Kinoshi, Joe Armon Jones, Neil Cowley, Poppy Daniels, Kokoroko, Nubya Garcia, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jools Holland, the explosive James Brandon Lewis, a personal favourite… something for everyone who likes any aspect of jazz. Sadly, I can’t go this year and I’ve already got terrible Fomo. It runs April 30-May 5, tickets: https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/festivals/jazz-festival