skyblue

Just noticed in Se22 magazine that the next Dulwich Community Council meeting is at 7pm 28th April at the community centre Darrell Road. One of the items for the agenda is primary and secondary school places and another is the future of the East Dulwich Hospital. Annoyingly it is the week we are on holiday but I will be interested to hear what happens.

Fuschia yes I agree with you completely about a coordiated set of admission policies but if Labour didn't do it during 13 years it is never going to happen during the next 4. I want a decent co-ed school in yes 'the area' i.e. community in which I live to sent my kids to. Should that only be open to some or to the wealthy? Is the expansion of the established co-eds being discussed? The Southwark stats say it all really. When I was a child everyone in our class went to the same secondary no forms, no choice, no preference and it wasn't fancy. Happy days. I see from SE22 magazine that the local community meeting for East Dulwich is on 28th April. We are on holiday so I can't go but this issue needs to be raised there. Will be at the next one.

Denmothersmith I am really pleased for you. I hope that every thing turns out well for you and your son - I have a feeling it will.

Hi James could you have a look at the secondary school threads in the family room and let us have your thoughts. Thanks

The number of children needing places in our area is going to increase over the coming years not decrease. There is no co-ed school that my children will stand a realistic chance of getting into. Absolutely agree that the admission policies must be changed too. I believe it should be lottery within a defined catchment for all schools. So no plus points for houses near to schools.

Hi all parents and carers who use this forum. You may have seen the various threads on this forum relating to secondary school admissions and thought that doesn't concern our family as you have may have just found out that you are pregnant or have a new born or your child has just started primary school and you think that things are bound to change by the time it gets to us. If we all don't do something nothing will ever change and the same thing will happen year after year to the children who live in East Dulwich, Camberwell and Nunhead. On the day that school allocations came out 200 Southwark children where not given any of the 6 schools that they put down as 'choices' and 40 children had no school what so ever. We are sadly lacking a good co-ed secondary school- Charter's catchment is tiny and Kingsdale is a lottery open to all of London. I want to send my son and daughter to a local co-ed. I want my kids to go to school in the community that we live in. I don't want them to be teenagers spending hours everyday on buses. I would really would dearly like Harris to become a co-ed and put right the opportunity that was missed 5 years ago. Also there are the stirrings of a campaign for a 'free' school but for it there has to be support from local families. I have major misgivings about 'free' schools but there is at least 4 more years of this policy so what option does our local community have to create a new school? As long as it is non selective and represents the local community of East Dulwich, Camberwell and Nunhead then it has to be better than nothing. (Kingsdale and Charter could even take it under their wing and later make it part of a new federation of schools?) I urge you to start thinking about this issue now not when your child is in year 5 or 6. Collectively we need to ask our locally elected representatives for leadership on this very important issue. We need another co-ed in this area of South London. Do our local elected reps agree? Renata and James please can you show your support and leadership!

Renata, Catherine. James, Tessa and Harriet could anyone confirm the legal ownership of the EDH? Over the next years the demand for secondary schools in this area is going to get more intense. Let's try and create a new co-ed school for our kids in their local community - one that serves them all. I wish that schooling was set up in a completely different way but it isn't and the kids haven't got 4 years to wait for a different administration.

Thanks Silly Woman -if the site isn't being used for public health I wonder whether those who handed over the site to the council could amend the terms of use. I 100% agree that the extreme outcome of free schools is a nightmare for our society and if the Clapham story is correct I will be going to work to pay my taxes, (whilst paying massive child care costs) so that the the rich city Clapham bankers can set up a school that excludes half of the community and save themselves private school fees. You have got to admire the cheek! Meanwhile I am looking at a future where I will be lucky to find a co-ed that will take my kids. My local co-ed secondary school has a lottery system that allows the Clapham bankers a go at getting their kids in there too! (I would love Harris to become co-ed.) However there is at least 4 more years of this policy, a dire need for kids in this area together with Camberwell and Nunhead to have a local inclusive co-ed community school and if it's the 'free' way at the moment, or no way what choice do we have? As long as it is inclusive for all our community I would support it.

Mark did you get any further in to establishing who owns the land next to the hospital and what, if any, the plans are for it?

concerning the Rotherhithe school I understand that Simon Hughes has confirmed that there is now funding available to build this school. James could confirm the position?

Renata Many thanks for your full response. Is there any possibility of an approach to Harris to sound out whether there is any possibility, as they now have control of both schools, to revisit the co-ed idea? The infrastructure is all there. It could be a realistic and great choice for families who want co-ed but are out of Charter catchment or are not lucky in the Kingsdale lottery. I assume that the labour council would support this idea, given it did originally and James would you support it?

There is no co/ed that is available to the east of lordship lane families. Many families want co eds and as such choose schools further away that they have more difficulty getting in to. It does not solve the shortage of places but may give a more realistic option to local families. I want my son and daughter to be educated at the nearest school and travel there together- perhaps even walk! Yep and I will send them there if this choice is given to me. I want my family to be part of our local community not teenagers who have to travel miles every day on buses.

Sorry Renata I understand that it was 200 that did not get any of the 6 'choices' that they had put down. A new school in Southwark will help all children in Southwark due to the knock on effect of the allocation of places - but party political issues seem to be delaying its construction. Surely a partial answer to the immediate issues that the East Dulwich/ Nunhead/Camberwell area face is that Harris becomes co-ed with lower and higher schools split on the two sites. Families want/ need co-eds. I remember them even telling Tony Blair this when he popped in for breakfast with a family on Upland Road. I hope that all the local parties are following this forum closely as the choice system for Southwark kids is a disgrace.

Hi Renata I am sure that everyone is grateful for all the work you are doing on allocations - thank you. Would you be able to give an update the building of the Rotherhithe Secondary School? James Barber has reported that the funding has been confirmed and I imagine that as such progress re commencement of the project now rests with the Council. A new school in Rotherhithe would provide 200 new places for our children. I understand that it is around 200 children in Southwark who were not allocated places. Progress on this could mean much less pain for families north and south of the borough next year.

If the money is there, and there are children who are having to travel from Rotherhithe to schools all over Southwark and there are children all over Southwark without school places, the Council and all of Southwark's MPs must make sure this school is built asap. We have a responsibility to our children to ensure that this happens. Party politics cannot be put above our children's education.

Hi Renata and James why was the Rotherhithe Secondary School cancelled if the funds are reserved and secondary schools are in such short supply in Southwark?

I wish Harris Boys the very best and hope that it becomes an excellent school. All the comments I have heard from people who live near the school are how well behaved the boys are. One parent has said that it is like a private education with the small class sizes and good discipline. Just wish it was co-ed.

Over the past couple of weeks I have looked at many of the local secondary schools admission criteria. All have distance as the main criteria. Haberdashers, Charter, Prendergast, Harris, (some then have banding as a subsection together with scholarships.) save the randomly allocated Kingsdale. As such it is the children who live closest to Kingsdale who are most disadvantaged by its admission criteria - such as the kids in the South London Press a couple of weeks ago. As I have said before Random Allocation is only fair for children if all schools do it. At the moment it is really unfair for the local Kingsdale kids that they have no better chance of accessing their local school than kids from Wandsworth whilst the other kids have a second bite of the cherry in putting down thier local school that the kids near Kingsdale have no hope of - now that is bonkers. There is also an environmental impact on catching public transport to schools across London and safety.

Thanks Sue and Huguenot that is a great way of doing it. Would be good if it could happen.

Would it be an idea for the forum to raise money for local charities by those who are wanting to recycle their stuff for free to have the option to ask the receiver to make a donation of a certain amount to a bank account set up for this purpose? The forum set could set up an account and divide the funds raised between two local charities, perhaps the Dulwich Help Line and Kids Company, both of which do a lot of extremely worthwhile work locally. The amount raised could be shown on the forum and passed on to the charities periodically.

Could a consequence of Kingsdale's well meaning random selection criteria be that children in its locality are indirectly placed at a disadvantage to other children in the pan London application process? This is because Kingsdale is open to all regardless of distance. However children who live further away, may also have another choice of a great school which does select only distance. This 'distance' school is not open to those children who live near Kingsdale and this is part of the reason why a secondary school void seems to have been created in this area. Further it is Kingsdale's local children whose parents are not able to work with in the system i.e. obtain a scholarship by means of extra tutoring who are the most disadvantaged. Random selection will only be fair for children if all schools use it.