Evening Standard: Transcendental Meditation Free School in London

“Children as young as four will be taught Transcendental Meditation twice a day at a new free school in London,” reported the Evening Standard on 14 November.

“Followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who taught the technique to The Beatles, want to open the school in Hampton for pupils aged four to eighteen. Every morning and afternoon, pupils will meditate at their desks with their eyes closed, and teachers will join in,” writes Anna Davis, the education correspondent.

The organisation behind the bid also has a school in Lancashire, the Maharishi Free School, which opened 25 years ago. It was previously private, but was awarded Free School status earlier this year and transferred to the state sector in September. The school follows the national curriculum with just the addition of a 5 to 15 minute session of Transcendental Meditation twice a day, depending on the pupils' ages.

The new school in London would open in 2013 in Oldfield House, a former special school, in west London.

Parents who may be interested are encouraged to register their interest now. Open Days will take place 10 and 15 December.

Richard Scott, a director of the school in Lancashire, is leading the Maharishi School Trust bid. He told the Evening Standard:

"Kids think more clearly, the mind is quieter and they become more responsive as a result of the meditation, and it comes through in their results."

He said the group approached every borough in London, with Richmond the first to reply and the most enthusiastic. He described the school as offering a consciousness-based education, which naturally cultivates positive behaviour.

"You may think that works only for middle-class kids. But it works with inner-city kids in some of the worst crime areas in America."

The group also hopes to open schools in more deprived parts of London.

 

Read more about the plans at the Evening Standard.