secondary school places

[chickmum]

How on earth do the education system think the likes of Twickenham Academy will succeed if they don't put a good balance of kids in it? Last year sent huge shock waves through parents who lived close to the Academy because the distance criteria for Orleans stopped at the Stoop (more or less), parents were led to believe that if you lived close to the Academy, that's where your child would end up going, after the initial shock, lots of parents began accepting that...purely because it would mean over time/years, a good balance of 'pupil mix' from both sides of the A316 would be achieved and therefore the Academy had a good chance of turfing out lots of good kids with decent grades. We all held our breath this year...GUESS WHAT..no child from Archdeacon (being one of the closest primary schools) got given the Academy, EVEN WORSE..kids who live on top of the Academy and close to Wickes roundabout got Orleans!! How is that? We can understand the baby boom scenario or bonus classes or sibling link for last year's fiasco but how on earth are the academies going to make a difference if you don't help them with the process!

Its called parental choice. Parents can choose which order of preference they have for schools, in a low intake year they are more likely to get the school of their choice.

LEAs have tried to fix this before but it has led to lots of unhappy parents and appeals to the schools ombudsman.

Hi Chickmum
Not quite true, at least 2 girls from Archdeacon got TA, to be honest I am amazed how far out boys live who got orleans from this year. Some further than the published distance???.I believe the published distance was 3.1 km. Wickes is further than that. Quite agree TA needs a good broad cross section of kids to help raise its profile and acheivment. how many from trafalgar got TA this year.
BTW I think the girls who got TA have turned it down

Not sure about Trafalgar but they have a 3 form entry so it could be a good amount but still, even if it were half (45) it's still not enough to make a lasting impression of good role models as the intake is 200 (not that it ever fills all 200 places!) i just think it's unfair that the goal posts seem to move each year and i keep questioning how can the Academies prove they are as good as the rest when pupils living on their doorstep get a school a fair bus ride away! I have to say, as a church goer, this has seriously challenged my faith in god!

There are some very positive comments about Twickenham Academy on Mumsnet, so it's worth keeping an eye on.

All Richmond Borough parents need to be aware that the council is looking to make some significant changes to Secondary Schools over the coming years, which could impact existing schools, so check out the thread: "New Secondaries for Richmond Borough" and join the debate. The council will hopefully listen to parents' views, but we can only engage in the process if we know what's going on.

Yes, i agree. I am willing to give TA a chance and so far my DC is enjoying it and doing ok in lessons, the Electronic Data System they have up and running is good, it keeps parents in the know! My concerns are in the playground and disruptive children in the classes who seem to enjoy the 'danger' they create. Once again tho, TA staff seem to be handling it well and are on top of concerns from parents..only time will tell.
Thank you for the thread above, i will have a look.