Stories + Views: My Local School

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Christine Phillips: Primary Schools Admissions crisis in London

I originally posted here because I am fighting to get a school place in Haringey, London for my 4-year-old daughter. Since then, the Evening Standard has reported on my case, and discovered that one in five children did not get their first choice of school, and more than 11,000 children are being educated in temporary classrooms in London. My case is being ... read more and comment →

One comment

Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "It's difficult to call on that one from a distance Christene. In most areas of the UK populations are much easier to monitor and plan for than they are in London. Incompetence seems the likely answer but really ......"

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Avis Johns: Too many single sex, faith and selective schools mean no choice in Barnet.

The middle of the night terror. There's no secondary for my daughter! Can I move, tutor or magic a solution? But its a waking nightmare too. Here in East Finchley, Barnet's decision to provide a 'choice' means that my 10 year old cannot go to a local school. But she could if she were a) male, b) Catholic or c) admitted ... read more and comment →

40 comments

Latest comment by Susan: "Surely with all the secondary schools in Barnet (and there are plenty non-demon) open the catchment area( which are already as said before, if not on their doorstep forget it), We need to make positive changes in the GREAT schools ......"

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Christine Phillips: I’m fighting for a place in a school for my daughter

No school place in Haringey? Try homeschooling. That's what I was told by Haringey Council when my application for a reception place left my daughter without a school. It’s been more than three weeks since the start of the new term. While everyone we know is proudly taking their children to school in their crisp new uniforms, my four-year-old daughter is ... read more and comment →

47 comments

Latest comment by jane denyer: "This has become a common problem, In my opinion there should be (A) funding for parents to Home School their children or (B) There should be funds allocated to put that child into a private sector placement in the catchment ......"

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Sarah Dodds: VICTORY IN LOUTH

"I bring good tidings for all those hard working campaigners up and down the land fighting the academies programme. We have had the most extra-ordinary result in our campaign in Louth, which can be attributed directly to the strength of the governing bodies. We have four schools looking to merge into one new academy. We also have a county council who ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Mel Kelly: "Tony, in 2010 Ark Schools controlled 8 academies - and they underspent the budget for the 8 academies by 7.5%. They state their policy is to invest underspends. They invest 60% of their funds in the Cayman islands and use Ark's ......"

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Edward. Anderson: The Fate of The Wakeman School

Dear LSN, I am writing to inform you that a local comprehensive in my area has been approved for closure. The school in question is The Wakeman School and has been approved despite gaining 61.5% A* - C inc Eng and Maths, which is a 16% rise on last years performance. I have to admit that the closure is personal to me ... read more and comment →

5 comments

Latest comment by Helen Fletcher: "Dear Edward, It's great that you have raised the profile of The Wakeman on this website- I posted something on here myself early in the campaign asking if anyone had any helpful experience and/or advice in challenging the Council! It was ......"

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Francis Gilbert: Are some schools too strict?

This is a problem that I've been thinking about recently; perhaps some schools are too strict? Some schools are so worried about their pupils misbehaving that they institute draconian sanctions and create an atmosphere of fear amongst the students and staff. I've spoken to teachers and pupils who've attended these sorts of schools and been thinking about this issue quite ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by B Y Stick: "As a local resident and an interested observer of the schools, I can offer the following view about the main differences between the schools. 1) Mossbourne was a school that started with a Year 7 intake while Haggerston already had the ......"

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Henry Stewart: The East London Education Miracle Continues

I have written here before about the remarkable transformation of Hackney education, over the nine years of the Learning Trust (responsible for Hackney's schools). August’s GCSE results confirmed a rising trend, with rise in of 3% (to 58%) in those achieving 5 GCSEs including English and Maths. Mossbourne again led the way, with 82% achieving the benchmark. Mossbourne has attracted a ... read more and comment →

11 comments

Latest comment by David Carpenter: "Champagne Tory is so deluded. Indulge a proper debate about the results from academies. Mossbourne IS a comprehensive that judges itself on purely an elitist tradition, but evidence suggests that it is becoming more selective. Any extra cash and good ......"

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Alan Gurbutt: Some thoughts on school admissions and the Eleven Plus examination

Concerns over school admissions could have been pre-empted by scrutinising pre-existing education inequalities in surrounding political and social context that have formed the fabric of subliminal acceptance of discrimination by Eleven Plus examination. Current issues can be viewed as a legacy left over from the 1944 Education Act that tried to establish a tripartite education system based on the work ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Nigel Ford: "I'm not sure how academy status impinges on grammar schools except for financial gains. My brother and his wife (who had a mixture of private and state education) live in Tonbridge and are parents to twin girls at Primary school who's ......"

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Marc Draco: Brilliant – Built on Strong Leadership and Shared Values

Rosewood Primary is a largely secular school sits near one of the early Academies (King's Academy) and can take a fair degree of credit for that schools success. In fact, it's highly likely that featured prominently in the decision to put King's where it is - since it can and does access directly into large swathes of the middle-classes - ... read more and comment →

4 comments

Latest comment by Marc Draco: "That's a different issue entirely, Botzarelli, although the two are related. My feeling is, and always has been that academies - particularly the early ones, are divisive. There is evidence that while performance at King's Academy has gone up since it ......"

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kate chadwick: We could all have the schools we want.

As a parent and a teacher in Newham I am very frustrated by the fear surrounding secondary education. Every conversation with the parents of the children at my son's school is poisoned with the desperation to find a good school and that there is nothing for 'people like us'. Some of these parents are even teachers in the borough and ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Nigel Ford: "A blog by Katherine Birbalsingh who intends to open a secondary free school in Lambeth contrasted the lack of endorsement she had received from the Shadow Education Secretary with that he conferred on Peter Hyman's notional free school which is ......"

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