London school to house homeless pupils

THE QUINTIN Kynaston School in St John’s Wood is planning to build a hostel for homeless teenagers after discovering that several A-level pupils have been sleeping rough or on friends’ sofas after becoming homeless.
Head teacher Jo Shuter hopes to raise £3 million to fund the accommodation centre for the vulnerable students.
She said: "We have got young people not ready to live independently who need to be looked after and helped into adulthood. They have got nobody else to turn to."
Vincent, 18, one of the pupils, said: "It gets to a point where you think, hang on a minute, three months have gone past and I'm still sleeping in Hyde Park.
"I still don't have a coat; I've lost two-and-a-half stone. What am I going to be doing in a year's time? Will I still be here?"
He is currently living in a hostel.
Another pupil said of her homelessness: "I was terrified – and it's just really lonely."
A statement on the school's website said: "Every year we experience large numbers of sixth-form students who face the prospect of homelessness, and many of whom do in fact become homeless.
"Until recently these young people have been placed in local hostels in central London – unfortunately this is no longer an option for many of these students and they are absolutely desperate for some help."