Mumsnet Talk

Proposed Uni School What do you think? Would be a possible choice for us, but not sure how it fits in with the grammar schools?

Is this a first, do any other Universities have associated schools?

It says lovely things about how it won't select on religion, ability, location, finances etc but doesn't spell out what, then, the over-subscription criteria are.

From what I read, it won't be competing with the Grammar schools, as it says it's not selecting on ability. Sounds like it would be a local catchment area school, in that case ?

Of course, the housing around the university is ewither student houseing, or very expensive housing from where any resident children tend to go to private schools, so I'm not sure where they are looking to recruit from, nor - if, as they say they are taking from across the city, what their criteria for choosing pupils will then be.

Is it for children of University staff? Drop 'em off on the way in to work?

UCL are opening an academy in Camden this September. On phone so can't do proper link but it's www.uclacademy.co.uk

I the Birmingham one the same sort of thing?

The UCL school will use the Common Application Form and abide by Camden's admissions timetable. Their selection criteria are:

1. Looked after children
2. Applicants who have a brother or sister at the school
who will still be on roll when they join. This can
include siblings in the sixth form as long as they are
on roll at the same school, and will still be on roll
when the other child joins.
3. Applicants who are judged to have an exceptional
social or medical need for a place at the school.
4. Other applicants, with priority to those living closest
to the school measured in a straight line (‘as the
crow flies’) between the centre of the home and the
centre of the school.

No, it's not for dc of staff.

Oh. Is it for DC of the QE Hospital staff then?

I'm joking I think!

The last thing the site needs is more traffic trying to get on/off site / park

Not clear to me where it would be physically located (and hence catchement area). Agree the admissions criteria don't appear very precise... but not feeling forced in to the 11+ would be great!

DD attends one of the UoB nurseries and we're pretty local (not students or rich enough to afford private though!).

Sounds interesting although I'm generally against Free Schools and I'm sure by the time DD get to secondary school Michael Gove and his ridiculous plans will be a distant memory.

Many unis are thinking of opening schools. Lots will be University Technical Colleges (UTCs) rather than free schools so having year 9 entry rather than year 7 and focusing on a particular area. More information here

Aston Uni's school, also in Birmingham opens this year focusing on Engineering. The curriculum is limited so you really need to know what career you want to go down this route.

Nodal points! That's a new one on me.

Aston's over-subscription criteria:
a) Looked After Children in the care of a local authority;
b) Distance between home address and the nodal point nearest to that home address. Distances are calculated according to a straight line measurement between the applicants home address and the nodal point (as the crow flies). The nodal point will be the main entrance at each station. In the event that a tie break situation occurs for the distance criteria, a random allocation tie break will be used.

Up to 20 places will be allocated to each of six nodal points across the city based on proximity of the applicant’s home address to the nearest nodal point. The points have been selected to allow access to the Academy for pupils living in a wider area than that local to the school. Railway stations have been selected as the nodal points for their obvious links to engineering, to allow a good geographical spread of points and to encourage pupils to use public transport when travelling to school. There is one nodal point in each of Birmingham’s six area networks.

The points selected are Hall Green Station, Moor Street Station, Perry Barr Station, Stechford Station, University Station, and Wylde Green Station.

The 'University Station' one is interesting - treading on the toes of UofB and their new school!

Yes, nodal points could have an interesting impact on house prices if the new school is sucessful! But at least it focuses on likely journeys.

Aston's started building their academy a couple of years ago so I think the UofB school is the one treading on toes!

There is actually a lot of very cheap housing adjacent to Birmingham University, it's address maybe Edgbaston, but one edge is firmly Selly Oak.

I think the nodal points idea is interesting.

I do disagree with mummytime though - the side of the University that the station is on is practically Harborne. Definitely no cheap housing round there

Oh, I don't know chocoroo you could probably pick up something cheap in Farquhar Road. <falls off chair laughing>
Harborne is expensive; Edgbaston is prohibitively so; it is impossible to buy in Selly Oak because the landlords snap it up. The only cheap housing in that area is over Weoley Castle direction.

senua He he! Agreed, I think the use of University station as a model point is very odd indeed. I just can't imagine all that many applicants all that local to there tbh. Most are firm grammar applicants it will go Private.

As you don't know where the Uni Birmingham School location will be, you don't know unlike Astons that it will be close to the station.

I've not heard anything about Aston University's school (which is interesting as I have a dd in Yr5, and also I, and many of my friends work in Education). It'll be interesting to see how people have known about it to apply, if it's opening this year .
How on earth are you supposed to know what career - or even subjects - your dc will be interested in as adults, when they are just 10 though ? .

Oh, I apologise. I've read the link which says it's going to be for 14 - 19 yr olds.
But still, that makes it odder IMO, as it's not an age at which you would normally be moving schools.

Aston's choice of the University station is strange. There aren't that many people, other than students, who actually live that near to it. And if you are looking for budding engineers then I would have thought that Longbridge was a better bet (or was it ruled out because it is too close to the county boundary?)

Do you think the UoB school will be on the recently vacated Bournville College site?

That's a thought, although I thought that had been sold as a "retirement village" - I can't see them finding it easy to seel retirement homes right next to a school

I think the jury is out as to whether or not UTcs will be sucessful, they are supposed to boost STEM education.

Aston's school is supposed to cover the whole city, hence the nodal points, but I don't know how much thought went into each one.

For kids not getting on well at school the option of an apprenticeship at 14 might be attractive. But I'm not sure the majority of them should specialise that early. I think it is more attractive as a post 16 option.