Harris Free School Primary on Hospital Site

[Lou]

I have just seen this:

http://tessajowell.net/uploads/0061f23d-637b-d7c4-1512-ae391b392af2.pdf

It suggests that Michael Gove, is trying to help Harris build the Nunhead primary school on the hospital site....

Anyone know anything about this?

[samstopit]

Dear Michael Gove

It's this simple. We need a co-ed secondary school for East Dulwich. We don't need another primary, thanks very much. The hospital site is the only site.

Please do as Tessa asks and listen to the community.

Yours

Everyone who has been backing the ED Secondary school campaign (more than 600 local families and counting)

[mrs.lotte]

Jeez Louise do Harris want to take over the world.

This would be a disaster as there would be no room anywhere nearby for a secondary. Where on earth are all these children going to go when they leave primary?!

[edanna]

Is there room for both?

[samstopit]

There is to be a health centre on the site too. I'd have sympathy for a primary school on the site alongside a secondary if there was a need for another primary. Surely we have enough new primary schools now?

[Otta]

Are Harris not building a primary on the police station site? Surely they don't need two schools that close together?

And why would Harris Nunhead be in Dulwich?

[Coach Beth]

Well how depressing! Harris seem to have moved in and secured the site with no consultation what so ever - pouring cold water over all the work of local parents to get a new secondary school for the area. So we will have a zillion new primary schools and no new secondary school.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Utterly depressing if it is true and Thank you for alerting us to the letter .

[buggie]

Hugely confusing as there's no chance any part of Numhead would be within catchment or easily able to get to a school there.

Would that then threaten Ivydale's expansion - Renata & James any more info?

[hpsaucey]

Coach Beth Wrote:

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

> Well how depressing! Harris seem to have moved in

> and secured the site with no consultation what so

> ever - pouring cold water over all the work of

> local parents to get a new secondary school for

> the area. So we will have a zillion new primary

> schools and no new secondary school.

Was wondering about the 'consultation' bit. Will be an interesting bun fight if they go up against such strong local wishes (based on consultation with local families) for a secondary.

[littlek1cker]

Thanks for alerting everyone to this Lou. How depressing indeed!

[Lou]

Next step it for me is figuring out how we can let our opinions be known. Any ideas?!

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Petition ? Get as many names as possible against Harris using that site ?

[kittysailing]

I think like many things Gove is involved in - he's got this wrong. I think he's talking about the Nunhead Harris primary that's going to take over the police station in September 2015. The dates mentioned, the name, the trajectory all are weirdly the same as the planned Harris primary which was approved in Feb 2014 to be housed in Harris girls then moved to old police station, LL in September 2015. Let's hope so before Harris takes over the world.

[intexasatthe moment]

I agree with kittysailing ,Gove's team have confused the sites .

Bit puzzled though that James/Renata haven't commented yet though . Guess they're double checking with powers that be that this really is just a large typo .

And just realised only posted last night .

[edanna]

Can it be a mistake? Why would the DfE be talking to the Department of Health if it was the police station?

[samstopit]

Possibly they are talking to the DH about the hospital site for a secondary school and Gove is muddled between the two school bids.

[Fuschia]

According to the Harris website, the Nunhead primary is additional to the ED primary

http://www.harrisfreeschooleastdulwich.org.uk/50/academy-news/article/11/building-announced-for-new-harris-primary-school-in-east-dulwich

'?When the petition for the new school in East Dulwich was put together by Cllr Barber, there was so much support that it justified a new school for the Nunhead area. This was approved last week and will open in September 2015.?'

Does this mean that Harris, as part of the discussions about the ED Primary, went on to arrange to open a second free school, and got it approved, without any further discussion or consultation with the community? And pinched the hospital site, as a done deal, in the process? It appears so.

[Fuschia]

James must know about this, he is quoted in that article on the Harris website, about the two new schools. And it was the original gathering of names for the first school http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1011288,page=12 that ended with so many more than the 80 needed for Harris ED. If the number really did end up at '145/80 + 100' then you can see what's happened. And the hospital site was one of the sites looked at for the ED primary wasn't it. I guess both sites, the police station and the hospital were available and so a further free school application was put in and approved in wave 5. The ED primary was approved in wave 4. They are definitely two separate schools, according to the published free school approvals.

[newguy42]

The beginning of the other thread about the hospital site http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1229772,page=1 implies James thinks there is room for a primary school, secondary school and health clinics on the hospital site - I assume Harris has swept in as the primary?

[EastDulwichSE22]

I really really hope not . Must Harris take over the whole of Southwark ?!

[Fuschia]

Good point. James says 'The Dulwich Hospital site is the only Dulwich land with sufficient space for a secondary school. A secondary school would still leave plenty of space for the proposed primary school and proposed medical facilities.'

So it looks like there was always a plan for a primary there, as well as the secondary?

[lstc]

It is going to be a very small health site then? This is madness, the public have not been listened to and if every school in the area is to run by Harris whatever happened to parental choice?

[bornagain]

If this school is to serve nunhead and it is going to be in east Dulwich it will create more traffic at start and end of school day. How can the children get to school without a car? Will it exclude nunhead children without access to a car? East Dulwich grove is being converted to 20 mph zone as we speak. We need less traffic not more.

[Fuschia]

Something isn't right when there is more public consultation and democratic control of decisions re local shops than there is about schools.