Pupils at the new University of Cambridge Primary School will not be treated like “guinea pigs” by academics, its founding headteacher has insisted.

The 630-place primary, which opens in September 2015, will be a hub of research for Cambridge’s education scholars. It will have a close relationship with the university’s world-famous education faculty, and it is envisaged that it will eventually host around 16 trainee teachers each year.

Academics have already had a significant impact on the school, helping to design everything from the structure of lunch breaks to the layout of classrooms.

But headteacher James Biddulph (pictured) told TES that the pupils will come first when the school opens its doors.

“The school is not an experiment,” he said. “I don’t want parents to be anxious pupils are going to be guinea pigs. This is trying to improve what schools do.

“Children will always be the heart. If any research or any teacher training impinges on their experience, we would reject that.”

Mr Biddulph, currently head of Avanti Court Primary School in East London, takes up his new post in January. 

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