Proposed Michaela Community School in Tooting

[gazzalw]

Does anyone have any further information on this? Was handed a flier about this with details of two parents' info evenings coming up very soon.....

It seems to offer a good option for a small secondary school - those in charge seem to have very good credentials but would be useful to know more.....

It seems as if it is proposing to be open for September 2012 so how come it wasn't flagged up an an option for current Year 6s?

[twoterrors]

If you google Katherine Birbalasingh you will find out some of the back story to this....but as far as the site goes until fairly recently I think they were going for a Lambeth site. That fell through so they were forced to look elsewhere.

[gazzalw]

On paper it looks like an attractive option. What does anyone else think/feel?

[Blu]

I am in favour of small secondary schools, for sure.
However a number of factors put me off this venture.

1. That Woman. She took such liberties with that book she wrote, and I read an article in the Observer by a guy who had run some projects she wrote about. He maintained that the kids were polite, engaged, progressing. She wrote about them in a sensational way describing them as a feral mob. She comes across as a self publicist doing this for her ego. Remember she delivered her onslaught on state schools (in general) while deputy head of a school in Lambeth (with a representative intake - a true comp) that this year got 93% A-C grades at GCSE, 73% inc English and Maths. But how to make yourself a reputation with the tories? Slag off the young people of the inner city.
   
2. If you are planning a free school, shouldn't it be in partnership with the community, and in response to a demand for there being a school? They first tried on N Lambeth and were turned down ostensibly because Lambeth (supported by parents) are prioritising primary places, so now they have landed in Tooting. Is this about working with a community, or finding a site to build a school for which you get an unadvertised headship job and create you personal vision of how you think it should all run?
   

I don't know how they will open in 2012 as the site isn't confirmed yet, is it?

Who knows, maybe it will be good and just what the area needs, but I can't bear that woman!

(I wouldn't be surprised if the Lambeth decision was based on wanting to flog the site for money, as options in the N of the borough are limited if you don't have faith credentials, but that's another story)

[KandyBarr]

She hasn't even bought a building yet, so nothing is certain. And if she does get up and running in the Trident Centre (a horribly depressing building) I would have thought she'd have a tough time competing with the partially selective and super-academic Graveney school just down the road.

[gazzalw]

But do remember that Graveney is wildly over-subscribed and a school with such an ethos I'm sure would go down very well with a lot of the Graveney parents don't you think.

Personally I like the idea but after months of agonising over the school choices don't think I could bear to upset the apple-cart by thinking about another option - although if none of DS choices come to fruition then it could be an attractive option.....

[KandyBarr]

Possibly, but given the choice between Graveney - a top school with a strong academic record and well established - and an unknown quantity, I'd choose Graveney. Might be popular with parents whose DCs don't get in to Graveney, I guess.

[gazzalw]

Sorry, that's what I meant!

[basildonbond]

as far as I can see it's just a vanity project and has no basis in what's actually needed in the area, which is primary places not secondary

There's no way that the school will be up and running by September this year - even if they did miraculously get all the current users of the Trident centre to move out, they'd still have to transform a completely unsuitable building into a school, which would cost millions and still only be a temporary site as it just won't be big enough in a couple of years time

It will be taking away badly needed funds from well-established schools and not addressing the problem of a lack of primary places in the area

[animula]

I'm with the majority opinion on this, I'm afraid. Blu and BasildonBond have summed up my particular concerns especially well.

Have a rather grim feeling that this one would be a rather unstable option to send your child to. Which is not on, really.

[KandyBarr]

Would agree with majority opinion too. The prospect of a school mopping up bright kids who just missed getting into Graveney is a far cry from her stated vision of altruism and educational rigour for poor children.

And while I'd love to believe she's a talented, altruistic visionary, I'm afraid the evidence so far and the behaviour she's displayed doesn't stack up: she's treated the children in her care as a commodity - as characters in her books or as illustrations in her speech to Tory conference.

Simply don't trust her and wouldn't trust my DCs to her, either.

[gazzalw]

Good to have your opinions - in theory it does seem like an attractive option but you are probably right......

[twoterrors]

Her speech to the tory party conference is probably still on youtube...google it and see how you feel.
I agree with others - I don't see how a community school with distance-based admission criteria can be needed wherever there happens to be a possible building. She claimed it was needed in North Lambeth. And I thought her speech was a disgraceful piece of cheap populism.

[HeartOfArse]

Birbalsingh is a total nutjobber with her own egotistical agenda.

[Matsikula]

Wowser, thought I'd be the lone voice suggesting that the main promoter behind this is uh, just a little unstable- seeming.....

I think she went for Lambeth first purely because she lives there. Tthe borough has just facilitated the building of two new secondary schools (an Academy and the parent- promoted Elm Green school) and is now focussing on primary schools following a major local baby boom, so was hardly being hard-left and controlling in not backing her proposals, as she claimed.

That said, I would consider the Michaela school as an option provided there are other people with good or better credentials than her involved at a very senior level. Is she proposing to be the Head Teacher?

[Blu]

Lambeth also has another secondary in the pipeline, to be built on the site of the current Fenstanton Primary, on the S Circular. I think the first intake is due to use the temporary buildings Evelyn Grace used to begin with, in 2013.

That will cluster a lot of the secondary school places in the S of the borough, but it isn't exactly hard to get around by bus in Lambeth. Secondaries don't need to be on your doorstep, like Primaries do.

yes - That Woman is due to be Head - how's that for equal oppotunity appointments? It's a private vanity project. And the whole thing demontrates exactly the problem with free schools. The running of which will suck up the LAs capacity to pay for other schools.

[KandyBarr]

As I understand it she's going to be head and that's that - no recruitment process. I'm not comfortable with public money being spent on senior salaries with such a lack of transparency. At least Toby Young had the sense to recruit senior staff properly.

[irisjohnson]

It's very much a case of 'find a site and then build a case for a school' as opposed to meeting any demand for a secondary school in the area. Also, the proposed catchment area is enormous (5 mile radius, I believe) which means that the children in the local area will stand little chance of getting a place anyway.

Tenants in the Trident Business Centre only found out about Katharine Birbalsingh's plans to use the site when the leaflet advertising the school was circulated to local primary schools a couple of weeks ago. It is a really unsuitable site which would need stacks of work done to it. There is no way a school will be opening there in September 2012 but I think those setting up have acknowledged this and there are plans to use a temporary site in Balham.

[madgirl]

My DH and I went to the parents' meeting last evening in Balham. I went with a very open mind, as I didn't know much at all about it before I went- and only found this thread this morning.
We are 50/50 Graveney on distance (waiting for 1st March anxiously) and we have tried for the sutton grammars with no luck. If we don't get Graveney we'll get EB. I have been to around 15 open evenings/mornings over the past 18 months and this woman was the most impressive. No disrespect to anyone but if your realistic result it EB then you are more likely to be open to considering other, new choices of secondary school. I have also spent 7 years feeling like DS's primary school has not delivered on basic 3Rs teaching so her ethos was like a breath of fresh air last evening. I was however surprised by the tiny turnout- perhaps the meeting at Tooting Leisure Centre will be better attended? I am off now to look at KB's speech- and I'll probably be back here with a change of view!!

[Blu]

I do sympathise with parents who do not feel they have acceptable options, madgirl.
Existing schools should shape up - and they can, there are schools which have done a U turn under a new head and dynamic leadership. And Free Schoolls and Aacdemies should, ideally, be part of a strategy and open to accountable processes - but in your position I could well imagine feeling 'anything is better than what we've got' - and indeed being inspired by her.
I know the school she has talked of in her book, know many many young peple who go there and her account is 'sexed up' to say the least.
Which is what the feature writer in the Observeer also says, having worked with the young people she writes of.

Good luck with your other appications - is CG not an option for you?

[KandyBarr]

Madgirl I think you were right to go with an open mind, and I agree she's certainly very good at presentations.

According to her website, you can apply for the proposed Michaela school outside the pan-London form, and it says you may have two offers. I'm curious: if on offers day you find yourself with a choice between Graveney and Michaela, which would you choose?

[madgirl]

Blu I visited CG twice, once when DS1 was in Year 5 and recently in September. I wasn't impressed...but that's another conversation! If fact we preferred EB to CG.
KandyBarr- it would be a close call. I think it would really suit our DS1. However, i have doubts as to whether Michaela will open as I am not convinced it will get sufficient number of applications.

[Blu]

Madgirl - my post sounded dead patronising, didn't mean to be like that. Interesting to hear your open minded feedback.

[Blu]

That's interesting too - I know parents who could get Dunraven places who have chosen CG as first preference, even being out of catchemnt, and others who have declined Graveney as too big and not liked the Head's presentation, while others undergo all sorts of extreme shenanigans to get in.

Personally I am in favour of smaller schools and thnk that most secondaries could benefit by being smaller. That would influence my choice of a school eben if it was run by a woman I currently have strong feelings a about! All theoretical for me - we are to the East of your general area.

[KandyBarr]

Madgirl - good luck to your DS whatever happens. There's often loads of movement on the Graveney admissions after offers day - March 1 isn't the end of it.

[madgirl]

This secondary school thing has been quite a journey for DH and I. From the rights and wrongs of selection, 11+ for grammars, inner london schools that are deemed outstanding by Ofsted yet still require a police presence at 3.30...I could wax lyrical quite simply for hours and hours. Thanks for your good wishes. Blu, no offence taken, just found CG children to be lacking in drive or focus especially during lessons and lack of sports facilities (DS1 v sporty) soul destroying. KandyBarr, last year the distance on 1st March (761 metres) was the same on 1st July so we don't hold out much hope for movement after offer day. Hey ho!!