Headmaster, Robert Ahearn and some of the school governors, Yiannis Pareas, Mary Karaolis, and John Chambers, guided Ms Villiers around the classrooms where she met keen students and teachers.
She listened to a short music recital, watched a demonstration of a Van de Graaff generator in Physics, and chatted to students during a food technology lesson on smoothie making. The visit concluded with double Maths where Theresa sat with pupils and got a firsthand account of the success of the school.
Speaking after the visit Theresa said: “I really enjoyed my tour of St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School. New state sector free schools are a crucial part of this Conservative-led government’s work to ensure all children get the best start in life.”
“It was great to see the students really engaged in the classroom and enjoying their studies. I was impressed to hear about after school initiatives like the Homework Club which is supervised and ensures that all children have access to computers and extra help. It is proving very popular.”
“St Andrew the Apostle is a very exciting addition to our schools in Barnet. It a tremendous achievement for the Orthodox community, and it warmly welcomes students from all faiths and backgrounds. I am sure it will go from strength to strength in the years to come.”
Robert Ahearn added: “The staff and students really appreciated Ms Villiers taking the time to visit St Andrew the Apostle School and seeing how much we’ve already achieved in our first few weeks of term. Her support has been invaluable and we look forward to future visits as the school develops.”
Pupils from all over North London attend the school with around 50% coming from Greek Orthodox background and half from other faiths. His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain blessed the school informally last Thursday. The School Chaplin has been confirmed as Father Damianos from the Greek Orthodox Church of St Catherine in Friern Barnet.The school is supported by the Russell Educational Trust.
St Andrew the Apostle aims for its students to compete for Oxbridge and other leading universities. It runs a varied program including French, classical studies and Latin as well as extracurricular activities such as the debating club.
Exciting plans for a new purpose built school building and sports hall on the same site are underway and planned for completion by 2015/2016 as the school becomes more established.