Proposed changes to admissions at Harris Girls - Making it harder for local girls to get a place.

[Kes]

Harris girls are currently consulting on changing their admissions policy from distance to a lottery. I find this quite worrying for a number of reasons:

1-As a Mum of girls in Nunhead it's probably the only local secondary we would have a chance to get into at the moment, the next nearest non-faith schools are all over subscribed so if Harris girls becomes a lottery we could end up having to accept a school place much further away.

2-If Harris girls takes fewer local children then this will have a knock on effect at other local schools whose "catchment area" could shrink even more.

3-It would result in even more crowding on roads and buses as lots of children from outside the area come in to Harris girls, while all the local girls who would have gone to Harris have to travel out.

4- We know that there is a coming shortage of secondary places, especially in this area, this change would actually make things worse, at a time when new local primaries are being set up and expanded.

5- How can the school claim to be serving the local community if it's actively seeking to take fewer children from this area?

There doesn't seem to have been much publicity about this consultation but we have written to them to oppose the change and if anyone else wants to do so or find out more the info is here: http://www.harrisdulwichgirls.org.uk/4/news/article/210/admissions-policy-consultation-have-your-say-here-

I know a single sex school wouldn't be first choice for a lot of people anyway (me included) But this change looks like it could be bad for lots of local families and other schools and personally I'd rather have a non-faith, local, single sex school than have to bus my kids miles and miles to wherever Southwark can find a school with spaces.

K

[Monkey]

Thanks Kes for bringing this to our attention. I will fill in the form.

[newtoedf]

I agree completely - unless all schools admit on a lottery basis this will simply disadvantage local students. It says that the consultation closes on 31st January so best to comment soon if you have a view one way or the other!

I also wonder how this consultation process is supposed to work - we live very close to the school with children who would be affected by this but have only seen information about the consultation here and from a friend on Facebook. Which doesn't seem to reflect the current admissions policy:

"II: ANNUAL PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS

Consultation

18 Harris Girls? Academy East Dulwich shall consult on any changes to its proposed admission arrangements. Otherwise the arrangements will be consulted on at least every 7 years.

19 In such circumstances the Academy will consult by 1 March:

a). parents of children between the ages of two and eighteen;

b) other persons in the relevant area who in the opinion of the admission authority have an interest in the proposed admissions;

c) all other admission authorities within the relevant area (except that primary schools need not consult secondary schools);

d) whichever of the governing body and the local authority who are not the admission authority;

e) any adjoining neighbouring local authorities where the admission authority is the local authority;"

There didn't seem to be an equivalent consultation for Harris Boys but I may have missed it.

[newboots]

This is very concerning. Thanks for bringing it to everyone's attention Kes.

[Kes]

Thanks, yes it's very worrying. We also live near the school, and get regular glossy news letters through the door about them but we only found out about this indirectly so there doesn't seem to have been any effort to consult with local families.

The consultation closes at the end of the month so anyone else with concerns please get in touch with them ASAP.

K

[Monkey]

I know Kes, I was just thinking about this. They know where to find us when it comes to sending us the brochures but they kept the consultation very quiet.

[katgod]

Very bad that not publicised properly. Having just been through the secondary transfer process, while I do not particularly like the HArris school it was good to have a 'banker' a local school you stand a good chance of getting into. If the lottery had been in place this year we would have had 6 'choices' none of which were dead cert. which would have made the process even worse.

Interested in what the lottery is intended to achieve. They clearly don't think the mix of girls they get is the right mix but how will lottery help? And what impact on the preferential treatment at Harris BOys for younger brothers if their sister goes to HArris GIrls?

[Kes]

Katgod - the stated aim is to make it easier for parents who want to choose a single sex school to be able to get their daughters in. Personally I'd like to be able to choose a mixed school but I don't think there are currently any that we would get into where we live and if Harris take fewer local girls then there will be even more competition for all the other schools and I doubt we'd have a chance!

[sophiesofa]

Is this some kind of response to thinking they'll be a new secondary in competition to them in the next couple of years. I may be reading too much into it though!

[katgod]

Thanks Kes. Is there any evidence girls who positively want to go there are being turned away?

[Lmcg46]

I think this is a school that is changing and will continue to change as the numbers feeding into the secondaries increases and the other schools that have been the choice of local parents over Harris Girls find their effective catchment areas contracting. As a Nunhead parent with a daughter 2 years away from this choice, I've felt slightly reassured that we had Harris on our doorstep and it seemed to be developing a broader academic base and not focusing solely on sport and media. I was keeping my eye on how it develops as it could be an option by the time we come to apply. I anticipated this academic base to develop further as the population changes. But if they go to lottery and the other schools stay based on distance, I'm not sure what options the girls local to the school will have - too far for the other traditional options, and their local school on lottery.

[Renata Hamvas]

As both a local resident and ward councillor I am concerned about these proposals. Here are my personal thoughts on the matter. This is a good school which has over the last few years had good results, and has increasing numbers of local girl's applying to attend. It is not an under subscribed school. The reasoning for this proposal, to enable parents the choice to send their daughters to a single sexed school is flawed as there are other girls schools available, Harris Academy Bermondsey, Notre Dame, St Saviour's and St Olave's and to the south, Prendegast and Sydenham Girls (girls from the area do go to other single sex schools too, eg Greycoats). This would decrease the chances for local girls to secure a place and increase the travel times of pupils to the school and of local girls who end up having to commute further to school when they don't get in.

Harris Girls and Boys have a joint 6th form, so with compulsory education now extended to age 18, parents are applying for an 11-16 single sex with 16-19 mixed school. This also raises the issue, if Harris Girls moves to the "random allocation" lottery system, what will happen with the boys admissions policy??? Will they be consulting next year? With the current increasing demand for secondary places in the East Dulwich area, I think that local girls who can walk to school, should have priority over those living 10 miles away, if the proposals would be adopted, this would not be the case.

Renata

[Mrs TP]

Renata do any of the other girls' schools you mention have single sex 6th form? I thought they all merged with somewhere or other or are generally open to boys from yr 12.

[Kes]

Katgod it's just a proposed change at the moment so not yet. But if the random lottery system goes ahead then you could live next door, put it as your first choice and still not get a place, while another girl 10 miles away gets in!

Harris is concerned that it's unfair on those wanting a single sex education that some of them can't get in as they live too far away, but as Renata points out there are quite a lot of single sex schools in Southwark, especially if you are also of the correct religion and get priority through that as well.

I have to say I find it quite frustrating, where are the schools trying to make it easier for those who choose non-religious mixed education?

K

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Mrs TP, of the Southwark Schools, Harris Bermondsey is mixed, Notre Dame doesn't have a sixth form and St Olave's is girls only. Forest Hill Boys and Sydenham Girls have a joint sixth form and they operate a similar admissions system to year 7. Harris Boys and Girls are walking distance apart, run by the same federation and have a joint sixth form, it would be odd for them to have totally different admission systems.

Renata

[DenmotherSmith]

There is something deeply suspicious about these proposed changes to Hartis girls admissions. They are not community nor school (ie current parents) lead and having personal knowledge ofharris governorship this is definitely a Harris Federation iniative. After years of trying to have more local girls apply and it finally paying off, they proposes this with such poor reasoning and very limited publicity.

I think at heart of it is a desire to to have more control over admissions and the vagueness of the lottery system can look very appealing. I sure the boys school will follow suite as the head of the girls is the executive principal of both schools.

[henryb]

Especially ironic as the local area is badly serviced by local primaries because of distance.

[James Barber]

Hi Renata,

The school is Ofsted Outstanding in all catefories not Good as you've stated. Really important point.

http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/132711/(type)/8192/(typename)/Secondary%20education

It would be really useful if Southwark Council engaged with the Harris Federation at a senior level. Harris feel neglected and my take is these proposals are one sad result from that.

I've attended planning committees where Labour councillors have given Harris people an exceptionally rough and rude ride BUT delays and issues were caused by Southwark Council Planning Officers.

If we want to successfully influence the Harris Federation then proper thoughtful polite engagement by southwark Council would be a great start.

[intexasatthe moment]

Oh for heavens sake James ,Renata said it was a good school not that it's Ofsted rating was good .

You're suggesting that Harris want to move to a lottery system because Labour councillors aren't polite enough to them and because they feel neglected ?

If Harris are allowing factors such as rudeness and " neglect " ( imagined or otherwise ) to influence how they formulate admissions policy what kind of educators are they ?

[DenmotherSmith]

James Barber Wrote:

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

>

. Harris feel neglected and my take is these

> proposals are one sad result from that.

>

>

>

Is Harris a needy child? Is this proposed changed an act of petulance, not remotely based on what is best for local children.

[Monkey]

Don't they get enough money to the detriment of other local schools to do what the hell they want with?

[Fuschia]

http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2013/03/why-always-the-harris-federation-who-decides-and-is-this-monopoly-legitimate/

[intexasatthe moment]

Interesting read ,thanks fuschia .

[first mate]

I would say that another Harris Primary on the extremely desirable ED Hospital site must be blocked once and for all. If the Harris schools are not there to serve local children, and they can so quickly and easily change admissions policy, then their focused attempts to acquire this site begins to look like land grabbing.

Any arguments based on local need and used to support the Harris drive on the ED Hospital and Police sites lose any credibility whatsoever.

[Earl Aelfheah]

You need to complete the consultation form on Harris' website as opposed to just emailing. Be careful, it's a PDF and you can save the form, without necessarily saving your changes. I nearly submitted a blank response by mistake, so check it before you send.