New Secondary Schools for Richmond 4

[BayJay2]

Welcome. This is the fourth (or perhaps fifth) in a series of threads about Richmond Secondary Schools.

The discussion was originally triggered by Richmond council's publication of its Education White Paper in February 2011. It started with two parallel threads here and here.

In November 2011 the most active of the original two threads reached 1000 messages (the maximum allowed) so we continued the conversation here.

That thread filled up in May 2012, and was continued here.

It's now November 2012, and once again we're at the start of a new thread ....

The RTT reports: Richmond missing a million in free school meals:

. . If children do not claim free meals their school cannot claim extra funding through the pupil premium, which is due to increase from £623 to £900 per pupil from April . . Richmond schools would be eligible to get £3,320,000, but are missing out on an extra £1m because only 3,740 of a potential 5,582 pupils are expected to claim their free meals . .

£1 million is about the size of the borough's annual school sports budget which is a scary thought.

Heathclif, also news over Christmas is the schools adjudicator ruling that the Oratory school is in breach of the admissions code for favouring those doing voluntary work for the church. It discriminates against poorer families with less time for flower arranging etc. So it might have to change and therefore take in more local children (if it abides by the code) rather than Richmond boys. But I don't think Hounslow Catholic schools will be changing their admission policies much for 2014 - so maybe girls will still be looking at Gumley (and Sacred Heart).

Admissions criteria for Teddington, Grey Court, Orleans Park and Waldegrave for 2014 entry published on council website. Consulation closes 11 February 2013.

The main change is that Waldegrave will have additional priority for children of staff (who have been there at least two years) after siblings. There are also admissions criteria for the sixth forms.

I don't think Christ's or RPA have published 2014 admissions criteria yet. TA and HA have documents dated 18 December 2012 which look like they are intended for 2013 entry but they're a bit confusing.

muminlondon Does the admissions code specify there should be distance criteria? If so the LAs like Brighton who have gone for a lottery system are in breach? Oratory have already defied the diocese in refusing to have an admissions code based on distance, so I doubt they will concede that unless they have to. They perceive that in conceding distance criteria they become a "local comprehensive", something the governing body find an anathema to the traditions of the school which has always seen itself as serving the truly devout Catholics of London as a whole. Even if they drop the points earned in the lottery for "service" they can still have a lottery of those who earn the necessary points from church attendance, baptism etc. Of course St RR is not going to use distance criteria either, but random allocation from the qualifying Parishes for those with the necessary reference from the priest. I suspect there will be a significant number of boys from the borough boarding the train for that "difficult journey" to Oratory for the foreseeable future.

School admissions code here. You're right, distance isn't a default assumption - catchment areas can be defined, although not by borough or so as to exclude children from other areas. LAs can't have random allocation, only individual schools, which must be monitored independently. And of course faith-based oversubscription criteria can be used - but they must 'have regard to any guidance from the body or person representing the religion or religious denomination when constructing faith-based oversubscription criteria' (e.g. follow the Diocese's advice).

Oratory, Cardinal Vaughan and Sacred Heart are designated as comprehensives - but they are 'like' grammars. Last year's GCSE entrants were an intake of 70-80% 'high attainers' so double the national average of 33%.

The Admissions Code says admission authorities (i.e. VA schools, academies) must not:

• Introduce any new selection by ability.
• Prioritise practical or financial support parents may give to the school or any associated organisation, including any religious authority [so that's where Oratory breached the Code].
• Take account of reports from previous schools about behaviour, attendance, attitude or achievement.
• Interview parents or children (apart from discussing 6th form options).

And they must:

• Set admission arrangements annually including admission number for each ?relevant age group'. [So RPA, TA, HA and Christ's should do this by 15 April and if anything changes they must consult for 8 weeks before 1 March of the previous year.]
• Ensure that their arrangements will not disadvantage unfairly, either directly or indirectly, a child from a particular social or racial group [Oratory's currently admission criteria might do this too].

muminlondon I could, but didn't, have added the words "middle class" to "devout Catholics of London as a whole". I think from the perspective of the Oratory they would see any attempts to change their criteria as "left wing social engineering". I think I shared this link before blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100087049/london-oratory-school-restores-traditional-criteria-for-admissions-will-the-left-wing-diocese-try-to-punish-it/ Interesting that there is a perspective that sees the diocese as left wing social engineers whereas from a non Catholic perspective in Richmond, in relation to the admissions policy on St RR one might perceive them as championing the perpetuation of the middle class privilege we see delivered by our Catholic Primary Schools.

As we have discussed just putting the hoop of a priest's reference into the admissions process has been demonstrated to disadvantage unfairly, either directly or indirectly, a child from a particular social or racial group. Something that applies to all exclusive Catholic Schools, not just Oratory. I was talking to someone whose children left St James's over 10 years ago and they said that the school was very socially mixed then, much smaller and not as oversubscribed but it has changed out of all recognition as it's academic reputation became better known and middle class parents duly found ways to get themselves to the head of the queue. It is even understood amongst middle class parents that the reason that Sacred Heart in Teddington has a wider social mix, in spite of relatively little difference in the affluence of the surrounding area, comes down to the basis on which the local priests are prepared to provide a reference.

Well, there's certainly a link between class - or just lack of deprivation - and achievement, as Waldegrave and Teddington have 50% 'high attainers' in their intake and consequently do well on pass rates.

Not really much difference between Oratory and Sacred Heart in intake though - Oratory 2011 GCSE year had 71% 'high attainers' on entry and Sacred Heart had 74%. If you adjust for the gender gap in attainment it would explain why Oratory needed that extra criteria to get the same intake. But it's true, whether it's a priest's reference or points for charity work, they are an extra layer of selection.

Happy New Year everyone!

Muminlondon, it's interesting that local schools are introducing priority for children of staff (the proposed IES free school has a similar policy). That's something that was brought in by the new Admissions Code, and is considered controversial by some.

Here's something else that might be of interest to people. Richmond Council has a new Schools Forum which ".. has a consultative role in relation to the local distribution of school funding and supports the Local Authority on matters relating to school budgets. Members are drawn mainly from local schools and play a critical role in representing the views of schools in the area, including Academies, maintained schools and early education providers." The first meeting took place in November and agreed the forum's constitution. See the link for the minutes.

Kingston have also published their 2014 admissions arrangements. They're planning to start using as-the-crow-flies distance instead of shortest walking route as a distance criteria.

"Richmond Council has a new Schools Forum"

Actually I've realised its not a new forum after all. It just has a new constitution.

With so many different admissions authorities/policies the schools adjudicator might get more work to do. One of the biggest problems is schools failing to publish their (updated) criteria on the website. And that means complaints can't be made according to deadline.

TA and HA admission pages here - admission year not clear in my opinion.

I've found 2014/15 consultation on admissions criteria for RPA.

Don't know about Christ's - but did you know they have a new house system with Elizabeth, Attenborough, Dickens and Turing House?!

"did you know they have a new house system with Elizabeth, Attenborough, Dickens and Turing House?"

I didn't; but good for them! More detail from page 10 in this newsletter.

MuninLondon: where do the %s of 'high attainers' come from?

If you go to the archived 2011 performance tables, select 'secondary' and search on e.g. local authority or by school name. The 'KS4 2011 results' tab should already be selected, but select the subheading 'Cohort information' and then sub-sub head 'Cohort information II'.

Or click on the school link and it's under the heading '2011 KS4 Performance Tables - Cohort information'.

The 2012 results will be published later in the month - primaries are already published and you can see 2011 results for many secondaries but there's some odd stuff going on with double entries with convertor academies and lack of info for the newer listing. The London Oratory's results don't come up on that database, but the archived database has the old VA listing.

Thanks for this most interesting link, from which comes:

KS4 2011 Results:

Percentage of high attainers, in descending order:

Waldegrave: 57%
Teddington : 43%
Orleans Park : 35%
Christ's : 31%
Hampton : 31%
Grey Court : 30%
Richmond Park : 21%
Twickenham : 17%

Percentage of Disadvantaged pupils, in descending order:

Richmond Park 29%
Grey Court 22%
Christ's 20%
Hampton 15%
Twickenham 15%
Orleans Park 14%
Teddington 8%
Waldegrave 6%

Also Gumley 48% High attainers, 10% disadvantaged

It's worth bearing in mind two things: (1) cohort and results reflects applications from 5 years ago - a school can evolve in that time, and (2) it's a useful context to see average GCSE grades and Ebacc rates just for 'top sets' (progress after prior attainment - see under KS4 results, 'average score per qualification' and 'english baccalaureate' broken down by ability band).

The smaller the school and/or top set, the harder it is provide separate classes for 'top sets' in all subjects. But on that basis Orleans Park and Grey Court have done particularly well and I wouldn't be surprised by even better 2012 results.

Top attainers: ave grade GCSE (% Ebacc)*

Orleans = A- (74%) (see Gumley below)
Waldegrave = A- (65%)
Teddington = B+ (57%)
Grey Court = B+ (49%)
Christ's = B (34%)
TA = B- (43%)
HA = B- (40%)
RPA = C+ (14%)

Gumley A- (74%)

[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jan/04/free-schools Are free schools working?
From Mandarin classes in Kent to meditation in Lancashire, free schools are the biggest experiment in education, but are they any good and who's paying?]] is a feature by John Harris for the Guardian; it ends:

. . Codling adds. "When we looked into the whole free school thing, it was clear you could do something radical with it ? go down the grammar school route, or become a trumpet-playing specialist school, or teach Latin. But we wanted to use that initiative to do something quite old-fashioned and unexciting. We just wanted to be a local community school, with a strong academic bias and strong pastoral care."

Not for the first time, I'm struck by a thought that might cause Gove a pang of disquiet: factor out what Whitehall would call its governance, and this is essentially a comprehensive school, isn't it?

"Yes," Codling says. "I'd say that it is."

A bit more context on 'top attainers'.

B is the average/median GCSE grade of high prior attainment (those who left primary at level 5 in English and Maths in London comprehensives) - about three quarters of those schools average B- to B+.

'Middle attainers' average C/D borderline and only 7% nationally are passing all Ebacc subjects.

Other Hounslow schools - proportion of high attainers:

Heathland 31% (16% disadvantaged - all pupils)
Gunnersbury 32% (20%)
St Mark's 54% (6%)

High attainers average GCSE (% achieving Ebacc):

Heathland B+ (56%)
Gunnersbury B+ (65%)
St Mark's B+ (58%)

Chris - thanks for posting that Guardian piece, which I thought was well balanced. Its good to see commentators waking up to the idea that, despite their freedoms, free schools don't necessarily have to be very different to traditional community schools in anything but governance (good thing too, since its now the only way of creating new community schools). I've no idea whether that thought would cause Gove disquiet or not but I think many school leaders would be comforted by it.

To me, 'mainstream' implies maximum flexibility - for all ability levels. Following best practice, trying new ideas but not being tied to any methodology where it doesn't deliver (phonics is an example - good idea, but so was ITA in the 1970s - not necessarily a silver bullet).

Just wondering BayJay - if Twickenham Academy had continued to be LA maintained but with the sort of rebuild budget Teddington had benefited from, could it have attracted the same level of support as the Turing House proposal at this stage? Would it have been easier for parents' wishes to be heard? Does it depend on the headteacher, whatever the governance structure?

"if Twickenham Academy had continued to be LA maintained but with the sort of rebuild budget Teddington had benefited from..."

I don't know what the outcome would have been, but interestingly Whitton School was shortlisted along with Teddington for chance of a rebuild under the BSF programme. If the decision had gone the other way then the educational landscape would probably now be different ... but it's impossible to say whether it would be better.

I'm not sure if they've been posted before, but for info here are the consultation responses to the closure of Whitton school and its replacement by Twickenham Academy.

I find those consultation responses very sad - only 20 responses, half from parents who, if they did approve (and most didn't), expressed some regret that it was the only option on the table. Meanwhile the councillors gave pat responses and the church diocese more or less replied 'we don't really care either way'. If the link policy had been abolished earlier, perhaps more parents would have taken note and got involved. But I feel that was manipulated by various parties too.

I do admire your positive and proactive approach - the free school route is a real opportunity.

"the free school route is a real opportunity"

Thanks. Hopefully we'll make the most of it.

I did find it interesting to see one of those responses suggesting TA adopted a science specialism. That's something I've suggested in the past too as TA's science results have always been particularly strong, and I think that as a core academic (and Ebacc) subject it would have balanced well with its existing sports and technology specialisms.

Of course schools no longer automatically receive extra Government funding to develop specialisms, so there's no financial incentive to adopt extra ones, but they're still significant as something that gives a distinctive flavour to a school and a focus for enrichment activities.

As a matter of interest, a few months ago my DH did a little bit of research into the prevalence of Science specialist schools in London, and he's been nagging me to post it to Mumsnet ever since, so now seems like as good a time as any. There are 49 of them, of which only 28 are community schools (the others are Voluntary Aided). There are 4 London Boroughs that don't have any Science specialist schools at all. Twickenham children can currently access a science specialism at Waldegrave (obviously girls only) or, if they're Catholic, possibly at Gunnersbury or St Marks.

Of course, if Turing House is established, it will provide an extra option.

Grey Court has a science specialism of course - but unless you live virtually in Kingston it's too far. Music is attractive and complements science well (thinking of Brian Cox and Brian May ...). I like your admissions policy too -very straightforward.