BigDad

continued (apologies - my browser wont let me do this in one go) 5) Harris say it is a "local school", but will the parents of every boy from Goodrich/Heber/Goose Green send their sons there ... probably not. And do the parents of all of these boys live within 100m of the proposed school? Of course not! 6) Harris make a big point about this being a sports academy ... but where will the boys actually play sport? There is no agreement with the parks dept to use Peckham Rye (which would be needed every day) so they will have to go back and forth to the girls school, given that the outdoor sports pitch will be used for the extended break times for a large portion of the day. I suppose the big question that a lot of people are asking is, what do we actually want? A school for the sake of it that has no evidence that it will work due to its size and design which raises a lot of concern amongst people who have studued the plans, or a smaller well designed school that will work and will help reduce a least some of the burden. Is one school really going to be the panacea that everybody wants? It's a small site, lets put a school on it that will work and realise that its not going to solve every problem due to the lack of boys schools in the area.

And here are some points to consider.... 1) Can the site really support that many boys and will it give them the education they deserve? The parents who have boys in the vicinity who are looking for secondary schools are saying they will send them elsewhere. 2)Look at the size of the play ground - how will 950 boys be accommodated in such a small area? There is no grass/soft surfaces on the site, so what will they do? We know the boys will have staggered breaks thus negating the outdoor sports pitch for much of th day. Dan Moynihan of HArris stated that no boys will be let off the premises during the school day, so thats going to be one cramped site. 3) The design - there are no windows on 2 sides of the school because of how they have located it, the windows are small and will not let in much light. I have not heard anyone say "Wow - what a great building!" "Thats really great - it fits in / complements the area so well","That fits in so well with the refurbished Peckham Rye". I haven't even heard anyone say its ok! It has been referenced to an out of town mall or a prison though .... zinc cladding anyone? 4) Size of school (I went to a comp of approx 1,000 - but we had our own playing fields to let loose on). The current trend is for smaller schools - a teacher friend's school is being split in 4 as its too big. to be continued ....

Dulwich Park Fairy - Got a few questions for you: 1) Are you familiar with the size of the site? 2) Have you studied the plans that Harris have submitted? 3) Do you really think that the school they have proposed will work on that site?

Mockney - thanks for gentle pointer... Bring on the bag tax - its worked in Ireland so why not here?

Monica, What does S.N.U.B stand for - some more info would be good. Also, what is the petition for? Is it to ask MPs, Mayor Ken etc to press ahead with the proposed tax on bags? I think its great that its happening - is there a poster that the local retailers are putting up to show their participation in the event and to get support from local (and not so local) punters?

Harris Academy and Parent Governors Does anyone know how many parents Harris allows on to the board of governors at its other schools? The minimum is 1 but most schools have at least 2. I had heard that Harris had reduced the number to 1 due to some conflicts - can anyone confirm this?

EXTENSION! The deadline for submitting objections to the plans has been extended to Aug 5th. If you think were complaining about nothing then check out the plans! http://www.edge-campaign.co.uk/

I forgot to say Wednesday 18th is the deadline for planning objections!!!! Check out the plans - the design is truly appalling

Given that the Govt says it wants 5 hours of sports per week, the current design of the school appears to prohibit any such action. There is one sports hall and an outdoor sports pitch (which will not be useable during the e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d breaks they will be having as they need the space because of the minute size of the paltry playground) so the facilities on site are not suitable So what will they do - use Peckham Rye on a daily basis? More than likely! Also they say they will use the girls school .... but hang on - the girls school wanted to stay a girls school which would exempt any boys being taught there! So if they can teach boys there - and they plan on about 50 a day being moved backwards and forwards - why not look at both sites and see what would be the best configuration to teach the maximum number of children the combined sites can manage? But - and here is the crux of the matter - its now got political. The Lib Dem councillors and Tessa Jowell (strange bedfellows indeed!) do not want to be the ones to stop it and would rather it go ahead and not deal with the consequences of having an overcrowded school.

The so called plan by Harris is that they will have staggered breaks to fit the boys on to the play ground and and will open up the out door pitch for use during the break ..... thus reducing the sporting facilities available of this so called sports academy while increasing the distraction for those studying indoors. If it wasn't so serious you'd laugh .......

I forgot to say - the deadline for the council office to receive objections to the plans is July 18th. Write to: Gwilym Jones, Planning Control, Chiltern, Portland Street, London, SE17 2ES Tel: 020 7525 1137 Quote reference: Planning No. 07-AP-1431

Reminder - the planning application from Harris has been submitted and the clock is ticking - please check out the plans at: http://www.edge-campaign.co.uk/ Take a look at the plans - remember how much money was spent on redoing Peckham Rye? Well - fancy having this monstrosity on your doorstep! I have not heard anyone yet who is impressed by what the architects have produced. On a more serious note - there are no windows on 2 sides of the building and the classroom windows are small, few and far between, the playground is minute - what space will they have to let off steam? look at the low quality building materials, the size and scale of the building is just so wrong. There are details of how you can object on the EDGE site. Make sure that our kids do not get lumbered with this poorly designed school that we will have to live with for a very long time to come!

Nunhead & Peckham Rye Community Council Mtg751 Come along at 6pm to see the plans . Meeting starts at 7pm to hear more about? ? The proposals for Harris Boy?s Academy on Waverley Lower School site4 .Cossall Estate Tenants & Residents Hall, 48 Mortlock Close, Cossall Walk, Peckham SE15 Apparently Harris will be there so they can tell us just how 950 boys will get a good education on that site, why they are not following the Governments plans for good design, just what facilities will be used and why they are not sharing with the girls school. Do we want a school of 950 because there is the capacity in the area even though it gives us an overcrowded school that probably wont work so 150 boys every year dont have to travel but dont get the education they deserve... or a school that the site can support meaning that the 75-100 approx boys (guestimate) who do go get a good education?

In response to Blinder99 - Would a lot of people like to keep the Victorian building? - Yes. Would they rather the old building was kept at the expense of a good new school? - No! Why do so many parents send their kids out of the area when they have Kingsdale close by? Because they want a good education for their children. It would be interesting to see what the provision is for schools in the redevelopment of the Elephant & Castle in response to Macroban. To date Harris has been very quiet about the catchment area (well, they've been very quiet about everything to tell the truth). Harris get ownership of the land and get to put their design on and run the school their way - i.e. what is 'economical' for them, rather than whats best for the children. As Harris are committed to have a swathe of academies across South London then what is their commitment to the education of the individual? Some schools will be more 'economical' than others to run due to their location and the available amount of land - so why should this academy stand on its own? Either they want to build a network of schools that support each other or they don't - and they definitely claim the former option here, which goes against their argument as to why they want to cram 950 boys on to a site of that size. PS - glad I don't live in Peterborough if thats the school they will have - no breaks, just 'rehydration opportunities' - how do academy's get away with it!

Also, check out the edge campaign website forum at: http://www.edge-campaign.co.uk/ This site is still developing and is worth checking out and will updated regularly with info about whats happening.

If you want to let Harris know what you think of the design (or if you want to check out the design itself) then log on to this page and let them have your views at http://www.harrisboysacademy.co.uk/feedback-form.php The more feedback they get the better!

Unfortunately our local councilors will not want to be the ones seen to be stopping a school being built - the Lib Dem councilor states that we have to think of the 300 or so boys who may not get into the site if its delayed for another year. Shame this is such a short term view and does not take into account the fact that if a school of this size is built and it doesn't work, then 150 boys EVERY YEAR will suffer due to cramped spaces, lack of facilities and we will have another school in the area that fails in its potential. Apparently there were spaces in Kingsdale Secondary for boys last year so why do we need a school anyway? Because we want a GOOD school, thats why! But will the councilors stand up for what is needed, or push through a design that a private company wants (which goes against previous agreements with the Council, local groups and parents) just so that they can say "We made that happen so vote for us next time round!". Its a blinkered view and they are trying to suck local residents along with them with threats of - if its not this -its nothing! Copy of letter from Lib Dem Councillor - Thank you very much for your email about the planning application for the new East Dulwich Boys Academy. As you will be aware the campaign for a new boys school in the area has been a long and often painfully slow one for children in desperate need of a school place. Local parents have campaigned and then worked together with the Council and Government over many years to secure this much needed community facility. You will understand that as ward councillors in an area of such need we cannot turn our backs on the urgent need for a new school for local children. We made a firm commitment to a new school at the local elections in May last year and it was a key concern of local people. So the local Liberal Democrat councillors remain fully committed to this. The Harris sponsors of the academy and the Council have been working very closely to try to sort out the complexities around a temporary site for the boys school for the academic year 2008/09 as well as issues around and on the permanent site. The work to find a temporary site has been exhaustive, in order to try to meet the demands from local parents for the school to open as early as possible. Whilst this proved not to be possible in 2007, we are doing everything we can to try to achieve an opening in September 2008 for 150 boys at a temporary site, and for the permanent school to then open fully in September 2009. I think it needs to be understood that to delay a planning application now would mean not only that the 2009 opening would be put in jeopardy but it would also mean that the 2008 opening in temporary accommodation could not go ahead. 300 boys would therefore be adversely affected. There have been comments made about the suitability of the site and the size of the school. I have to say I disagree with these. The site was a school before and whilst there will be some impacts (which should be properly considered in the planning process) it is far and away the best local site for a school. The council also had to find a site within its ownership because no government money is available for buying land for new schools. Like it or not we live in an area with very few available sites and I think the right decision was made. Although 950 may sound like a large number it is not high for a school of this sort and it certainly reflects the level of demand in the area. I agree that Harris have not handled the consultation on this particularly well and they could have consulted earlier and more widely. However, it is clear to me that local people are nevertheless making their voice heard and there will be further opportunity through the planning process to ensure proper statutory consultation. I understand that the final application has now been submitted by Harris to the Council's planning department. It will then be presented in due course to a council planning committee. Issues such as the design, traffic and the impact of the building can be considered as part of this process and if necessary, amendments can be made. I hope this helps explain both the reason's for my party's support for the school and the way in which valid detailed concerns that some residents have expressed can be addressed through the planning process. With best wishes Richard Cllr Richard Thomas Liberal Democrat, East Dulwich Executive Member for Regeneration www.richardthomas.org.uk Where Cllr Thomas gets his expertise from we are not sure and when questioned on his letter he was reticent to change his point of view. IF (and its a very interesting if) Harris is committed to having a good school on the site - why don't they engage with the community, discuss the requirements and do it in an orderly and transparent manner? Instead they have 'agreement' with the Council that they should not attend the meeting last Sunday?

From what I've heard (not that Harris is being forthcoming and sharing their plans with the community - heavens forbid) - There is not a plan to share facilities - some of the sixth form teachers may be shared between the sites but that appears to be all. Given that the head of the girls school voted no to it becoming co-ed, it seems to back this up If they didn't want it to be co-ed, why would they allow boys to come and have classes there - would they segregate them out?) And what of the future - in 5 years time is it really any good having an academy thats not working? Given the commotion in the community, why are Harris not more forthcoming? They are not attending the residents meeting on Sunday which would be an opportunity for them to impress on everyone with their detailed plans as to how this would work.

Whats this NIMBY thing? None of the local residents that I know of oppose having a school on the site - everyone I've talked to WANTS a school to go on the site. Most have kids and want a place locally to send then to .... so why do you think so many are up in arms? Can we put 2 and 2 together and get 4? The building is going to be out of place and seriously impose on those living around it, What quality of education will the boys get on such a small site? Harris advertise for teachers telling them there is very limited parking so its come to school on the bus with all of their books/equipment etc, is that going to tempt them? And exactly just where will that many teenage boys let off steam (Harris reckon in the library...so we wont go there) It all sounds like the recipe for a school that your not going to wan to send your kids to The building is too big - reduce it so it works to educate the number of kids the site can support to get a good education and lets celebrate that, rather than moaning that there is no good school places. Come on Harris - we want a school so lets have one that works!

Harris doesn't want the girls and boys to mix so are keeping them separate from what I've heard. Mind you Harris play their cards so close to their chest its difficult to know exactly what is going on. Anyway - if its supposed to be a SPORTS academy, where are the SPORTS facilities? If there are 950 teenage boys squashed onto that site theres not going to be much room for anything to be done. Anyway what do we want to have - a school that would work that you'd actually want to send your kids to, or a school for the sake of it that will go down hill so fast because its cramped, oppressive and a lack of facilities.....