Interesting blog re Harris

[LondonMix]

Hi Fischia-I should have been clearer.

I wasn't comparing Hatcham's intake to Charter but rather to its local secondary schools in Lewisham (which is what would make most sense in assessing if its admission policy was skewing intake vs its local area).

I'm not sure that's true but I think someone else on the Habs thread after looking at their bands came to that conclusion.

[Fuschia]

10% is way below the national average for low achievers. You can look up the whole of lewisham on that page

[Fuschia]

Only prendergast is lower

[LondonMix]

Pendergrast is the only other school in Lewisham that do a different banding system so both schools come in with very low proportion of low-attainers. That's worrying.

Habs Knight seems to be around average (nationally and with Lewisham) despite having the same admission policy as Hatcham though which is strange. It seems to suggest that its parents failing to apply rather than the application process per se that's causing the intake to skew.

This phenomena of self-exclusion from academically sucessful schools by low-attaining families is something the Sutton Trust highlighted as an unexpected issue with fair banding achieving a comprehensive intake.

[Fuschia]

From a marketing point of view, something to be said for a chain to have at least one 'high flier' in its portfolio, which is why I find the Harris cp thing very interesting.

[LondonMix]

I agree-- that's also why I think they are pushing so hard to open a 2nd primary school in ED. I personally think they want to have some schools in affluent areas that statistically are likely to do well with less effort.

Renata has suggested to Harris on this forum that they open a primary school in the (poorer) northern part of the borough where there is actually a real need / still an existing shortfall. Somehow they find that less pressing / compelling case than opening up a school for Nunhead in East Dulwich which already as a 2.5 form surplus by 2016...

ETA: With that said, I do think they are a good school provider and do well for low attainers in their schools. ED Harris Girls has 22% low attainers and those low attainers do better there than they do at our other local secondaries. Middle and high attainers do as well as at ED Harris as at our other local secondaries like the Charter.