Richmond Borough Schools Chat 7

[muminlondon2]

Lots and lots of discussions on local schools and education issues preceded this thread, including Richmond Borough Schools Chat 6.

Anyone who wants to carry on that discussion, and offer information and opinions (without being moderated by any particular individual or interest group, bearing in mind all the usual mumsnet guidelines about respect and not getting personal, etc.) - feel free.

The format does work better, I agree jellytoto. Less focus on the rejections, more on the options.

I don't remember seeing a consultation but Christ's criteria have changed slightly this year. So up until last year, after looked after, SEN and siblings, the open places were prioritised for: 'Children who attend a primary school within 3km of Christ’s School and live within 3km of Christ’s School.'

But for 2016, this has been changed to: 'Children who attend a primary school within 3.5km of the school by the shortest route by road and/or maintained footpath as measured by the local authority.'

So it now effectively has feeder schools prioritised over distance. I wonder what changes this would bring? Would it better suit the needs of North Sheen/Kew pupils who may have no other state option?

Just correct myself in the earlier post: 'it doesn't follow that second preference offers ... would be any further away from the school. That applies to all those schools with maps except for StRR RPA (not quite more 1st pref applications than published places, but very close).

Should have said that the TH map is intake rather than offers ....

A story on the RTT website:

Twickenham MP highlights the importance of girls studying science at school

I know 3 of those dots
Showing all the preferences works in favour of the less popular schools - eg RPA because it could be spun to suggest it is now a desirable (ie first choice) for Sheen Mount catchment - I'll bet that's what they will claim - instead of being a less-worse option than where they might end up if the did not put it on - eg onerous journey to Twickenham Academy.

Here are the transfer routes for HHJS this year: www.hamptonhill.richmond.sch.uk/page/?title=Secondary+Transfer+Route&pid=39

The kids are always scattered to the 4 winds. 25 different schools this year but that's less than last year. Turing has helped big time. I hope the numbers come down again in 2016 too as some of the families going prívate are mortgaging themselves up to the eyes. As well as Turing filling a void the new head at HA is well liked so if she can back that up with a better Ofsted people might start to feel better about that option too.

Richmond school results featured in press tonight concerning Labour's new spin doctor choosingTiffin over local non selective secondaries. Re Maths at Waldegrave, it may indeed be a way of masking shortages/timetable problems, the school was pretty uncompromising with the parents about the subject change although I expect they could not have forced them.

Twix45 re Tiffin: link please or did you read this in the dead tree press? if so, which?

It was in the Telegraph under the headline Jeremy Corbyn's spin doctor Seumas Milne sent his children to top grammar schools. Only 2014 results mentioned.

He was, of course, privately educated himself as were most Guardian writers, especially those who have written appreciatively of Jeremy Corbyn, so perhaps sending his children to state selective rather than private selective seemed like an acceptable compromise in his mind.

A friend with a DC in Y11 @ RPA has been told that the AS results this yea were terrible with half failing - is this correct? Apparently there is an open evening after half-term - is she likely to get answers there? She is very upset...

I don't know the answer but here are a few points. Did they accept pupils onto A level courses who weren't really A level material eg didn't,t have at least B's at gcse for subjects they are taking A levels in. It is easy to be grateful you have been accepted on an a level course with a C but it might not be the right thing. Especially science and maths. Some students with A,s at GCSE don't cope with A level maths.
Are their Sixth form teachers experiance A level teachers with a prove track record. Or GCSE teachers stepping up.
Next point is they don't have to stay at RPA. Look at all the other sixth forms. I know Esher's closing date has passed but the others are still open. And you don't have to stay in Richmond.
Quite a few pupils at Orleans are going to Esther so it might have space. Some church schools take any religion into sixth form eg St Marks Hounslow.
Probably over the next few years the sixth forms with good teaching and results will thrive and theothers will fall by the wayside

I don't know if this is relevant but just read a report on the Local Schools Network, which points out a period of financial non-compliance at West London Free School. It also says that journalist Toby Young is now Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer rather than trust chair, and that the school has plans for a further primary school and a secondary school. It currently has two primaries feeding into WLFS and a third due to open. The primaries have had outstanding Ofsted reports but there are various main board mumsnet threads pointing out high staff turnover at the secondary and an 'understaffed finance department' fits that trend.

Richmond council has taken a careful approach to planning a new school at REEC and being closely involved in the first couple of primary free schools. But I wonder if the Stag brewery site will attract proposals from new chains like WLFS, run by attention-seeking high profile individuals like Toby Young, or political advisers/donors (e.g. Floreat with ambitious expansion plans? I do hope not.

A careful approach to planning a new school at REEC -

And the new secondary school that will open in September 2017 in Twickenham has been named - The Richmond upon Thames School.

The name was chosen by the Richmond upon Thames College Free School Trust.

Well that's certainly a very conservative (Conservative?) choice!

Though so is 'West London Free School' ...

The Richmond upon Thames School. Not very inspiring, is it?

A name inspired by its location in the Twickenham community, by the culture or heritage of the area? Not aspirational but a bit of a disappointment really.

The RUTS. Formerly known as the REEC.

Regarding names for schools, the sponsors chose the name Deer Park School for the new Primary Free School in Richmond. This is a very misleading name. If the crazy plan goes ahead to locate it at London House on the busy A316 at Manor Circus, it should be re-named..how about Pollution Point School? It should be located in or near Old Deer Park where at least children could actually play. Rather than on the roof of a building overlooking a very busy main road with continuos traffic

RTT Online has: Controversial Twickenham Green school to come under the spotlight at public meeting:

. . Twickenham Primary Academy, based in Colne Road, applied last October for full planning permission at the Heathgate House site near Twickenham Green before subsequently withdrawing the bid. Furious residents . . claim(ed) the school would create traffic "chaos" but dispensation was granted to Gems Learning Trust (by) Lord Nash, parliamentary under secretary of state for schools, to open . . temporarily.

. . Vice-chairman (of Friends of Twickenham Green) John Bell said: "The meeting has been called because there is still a lot of concern about the school developing there. "They will need to submit another planning application as the previous one was withdrawn. We want to gather as much information as we can precisely about people's concerns. We also need to establish whether they are considering alternative sites or not - if they are refused planning, they will have nowhere to go . . There is very little parking in the area for amount of heavy goods traffic from Greggs. That doesn't seem to mix very well with young children and parents parking outside a school."

. . (The) meeting takes place at the Salvation Army Hall in May Road, Twickenham, at 7.45pm on Wednesday, November 4.

Richmond Upon Thames School yields an appropriate acronym nickname for a school full of randy adolescents: Ruts. Just so long as they don’t do it in the streets!

GEMS Twickenham and Deer Park School were approved by Lord Nash who also runs his own academy school chain. It's funny how controversial it was for the Lords to vote against tax credits cuts, when unelected peers with vested interests are making decision about our schools over which the local community does not have any democratic decision-making rights.

Too right muminlondon2. The article about GEMS Twickenham has one very interesting comment on how everything will get through planning regardless
of opposition from residents. I fear the same will happen with Deer Park School who plan to open on a totally unsuitable site. Local residents will fight "tooth and nail" over that site as local parents do not want to send their children to a school there, however good the school might turn out to be.

The RTT online has reported on the 'deeply uninspiring' school name. There's also a link to a poll where you can vote for an alternative name. 'Elvis Costello High School' wasn't an option (though could have been fun for Whitton Twickenham Academy), let alone Crawdaddy Academy, but Alexander Pope School seems like an obvious choice. 'Richmond College School' would at least have been logical.

Richmond College School? One problem, muminlondon, is that the college generally has a poor reputation locally. (And for a variety of reasons.)

Probably not a good idea to link the new school any more closely to the college than it will have to by sharing the campus and its link for sixth form places. Arms length would be preferrable but that's difficult with the college controlling the shared facilities.

It was no surprise really that Richmond upon Thames College Free School Trust, Richmond upon Thames College and Richmond upon Thames Council went ahead and chose, guess what, Richmond upon Thames School.

They seem determined to ignore that it will chiefly serve the immediate community in Twickenham. I wonder why?

This is the now 7-month-old petition: tinyurl.com/DeerParkSchool. It has attracted 138 supporters so far.