Secondary school place shortage - do you need help?

[James Barber]

This year 34 out of 213 SE22 children who applied for sceonday school places have failed to be allocated any secondary school.

If you're on of the 34 families affected do get in touch with one of your local councillors - we will try and help you.

Numbers who received their 1st pref - 101

2nd pref - 37

3rd pref - 23

4th pref - 9

5th pref - 7

6th pref - 2

Part of the problem is that local schools Kingsdale, Charter and Harris Boys were significantly oversubscribed this year with applications from both Southwark and out of borough residents - more than 3,100 applications for 530 places across these three schools. Largely the problem is Kingsdale and Harris Boys admissions policy not being based on distance from the school.

[Dorothy]

James, is there anything that can be done to get Kingsdale and Harris boys to re-think their admissions policies in the light of these shortages within the borough? I have read somewhere (was it even on this forum) that Kingsdale have offered 63 places to Lewisham children.

[James Barber]

Hi Dorothy,

I'm arranging to visit Harris Boys School.

I'm also planning to arrange a visit to Kingsdale School.

Admissions policies are not easy or quick to change.

[Dorothy]

No, I understand.

[maxti]

I also read that it was on the mums net forum....

According to the Schools preference advisor, 200 children in Southwark were not offered any of their named schools, 40 children were not offered a place at all & 63 of Kingsdale's places were offered to children in Lewisham. It's a Nightmare.

And a lot of discussion around kids from Wandsworth now applying to Kingsdale...

Anyway we are awaiting the waiting lists.....something has to be done about the "choices" = NONE for schools in southwark

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Dorothy,

Harris Boys School do admit on distance. They have a banding system and you get offered a place in relation to your distance from the school, in relation to where other children in your child's band live. They currently have waiting lists for all bands. Last year they had movement on their waiting lists right up until September. Due to Kingsdale's location, if it would change it's admissions criteria to one based on distance, It would be unlikely that any East Dulwich residents would be offered places there under distance critera. If you draw a circle 1km around Kingsdale school, it cover a big chunk of Lambeth, and a chunk of Lewisham and southern parts of Dulwich eg the Kingswood Estate and Upper Sydenham. At secondary school level many pupils cross borough boundaries, eg Southwark pupils at Aske's, Lewisham pupils at the Harris boys and girl's schools. The admissions system itself works on a pan-London basis.

Southwark secondary schools are continually improving. Their success has lead to some of them being very oversubscribed. The more oversubscribed a school is, the more disappointed parent and children there will be when the place allocations are released. Our goal should be to strive for all local schools to be good, so that our children to thrive to the best of their abilities at whichever school they go to.

Renata

[intexasatthe moment]

James - I'm shocked by your remarks about Deptford Green and by your reference to Harris Boys's admissions policy not taking distance into account .Which of course it does .

Maybe you didn't mean the latter to be read like this .

But I find the former unforgiveable .

Are you having a bad day ?

Coming down with something ?

Seems out of character .

[James Barber]

Hi intexasthemoment,

Apololgies I am having a bad hair day.

I think it terrible if kids living in SE22 are being offered school places in schools outside Southwark, that means they'd have to travel past schools in Southwark they'd like to attend, while kids near the out of Southwark school don't attend their local school but travel to a Southwark school.

Its not good for local community and its bad for the planet.

Beign in SE22 I've only come across one family that have visited the Deptford school and their reaction to no other places being offered locally is to see if they can afford to go private. This is a terrible state of affairs and makes me feel angry.

Harris Boys banding and its over subscription will mean some kids living near the school wont have been allocated places. It spreads the ability range but can create weird anomalies.

As Renata has reiterated our local schools have become dramatically better and more families want to use local Southwark schools.

One thing that would help is the previously proposed but Southwark has now cancelled new secondary school in Rotherhithe the government has funds reserved for. With the domino affect it would mean all kids in Southwark would be offered a local place and fewer others would be attending schools outside the area.

[skyblue]

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?

[MGolden]

James Barber Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi Dorothy,

> I'm arranging to visit Harris Boys School.

> I'm also planning to arrange a visit to Kingsdale

> School.

>

> Admissions policies are not easy or quick to

> change.

As lomg as Kingsdale don't change their admissions policy, I've got a son in Y4 in primary school and I would love him to join his older brother at Kingsdale!

[James Barber]

Hi skyblue,

You did ask!

The Labour administration have said they can't make a business case to justify the new school so they wont apply for the money to be released.

Until 5 May last year we had the proof needed and still believe it is required. With Canada Water redevelopment and many thousands of new homes there and across north southwark happening a school will be needed. Equally NW lewisham is developing thousands of new homes.

At the last Rotherhithe Community Council the Labour cabinet member for education stated publicly the funds had been withdrawn by the government. Simon Hughes double checked and has had it confirmed they haven't been withdrawn.

Frankly, its political priorities.

When no Lib Dem councillors were in the south of Southwark we still made sure the Harris Boys school happened as it was the right thing to do for the SE22 area.

[skyblue]

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.

[James Barber]

Hi skyblue,

I couldn't agree more.

This will sound weird but I'm political with a small p. My prime goal is to improve things where we live.