The most Socially Selective schools in England.

[smokepole]

Here is a list of the most socially selective state schools in England , total no of pupils entitled to free school meals over the last six years. Dept Of Education Characteristics

1. Cranbrook School Kent 5
2. Borlase Grammar Bucks 5
3. Bishop Words Wilts 7
4. Pate's Grammar Gloucs 8
5. Colchester Royal Essex 10
6. Caistor Grammar Lincs 10
7. King Edward Louth Lincs 10
8. Adams Grammar Shrop 11
9. Colchester High Essex 12
10. Kendrick Grammar Berks 12
11. Dr Challinor High Bucks 12

12. Alyesbury Gram Bucks 13 12. Beaconsfield High Bucks 13 12. Newport High Shrop 13 15. Stratford Gram Warks 14 15.Skinners Sch Kent 14 17.Chelmsford High Essex 15 17. Judd Sch Kent 15 17. St Olaves Kent 15 20. Alcester Gram Warks 16 21. Tonbridge Gram Kent 17 22. Kegs Chelms Essex 19 22. Lancaster Girls Lancs 19 24. Skipton High Yorks 20 24. Tunbridge W Gir Kent 20 26 Hockerill Anglo Essex 21 27. Ripon Gram Yorks 22 27. Ermysteds Yorks 22 29. Altrincham Boys Ches 23 30. St Bernards Slough Berks 24

I'm sorry, Slough is a dive. I just moved away in the summer having lived there and worked in a Slough school for 6 years.

People from Windsor and the Chalfonts etc use St Bernards so I'm sure they do not represent their local area!

I would have said that some of the other Slough grammars do though, to a greater extent anyway.

Kent Dept Of Education Characteristics. It says on the Kent Comparison the Number of Pupils eligible for FSM in the last 6 years @
Cranbrook = 5 pupils .

Tell me, littleducks, why would the world’s third largest retailer, Tesco, build one of its biggest superstores in, of all places, Slough? Clearly, the grocery giant don’t see Slough as a dump, a run down, ugly and depressing place as you and some others have implied. No, a large supermarket cannot make up for a range of social problems, that’s not its business to do that; instead, it and many other world-class companies see Slough as a up and coming trendy town with huge potential in the 21st century. [See link above]

As regards deprived areas and drug problem, may I suggest London, Paris and New York, to name but a few world cities, all have deprived areas and drug problems. And yes, handcream I am mightily impressed how Slough has turned around in the last 30 or so years to (re)develop itself. You can’t say that for many other British cities or towns.

I have just written an essay about Supermarket Power Tesco Towns for my OU level 1 Social Science DD102 !.

Tell me, littleducks, why would the world’s third largest retailer, Tesco, build one of its biggest superstores in, of all places, Slough?

Because it's incredibly densely populated, partly due to a very high proportion of houses of multiple occupancy?

The population of Slough is only 120,000. I don't call that densely populated, never mind incredibly densely poplated.

www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/slough/articles/2014/06/06/100850-new-figures-show-sloughs-housing-situation-is-at-crisis-point/

I am pretty shocked by this tbh, perhaps I am the only one? I went to a school on this list, albeit 20+ yrs ago, and I had friends from all social groups. Not sure if FSM were a thing back then, but the school was in a desperate state and didn't even have a proper canteen. I can think of only a couple in my cohort who had come from a private school, and far more who came from pretty rough parts of town. The school was always highly regarded for academic performance but not a lot nothing else. Have things really changed that much in 20 yrs?

For that matter, the housing situation in the whole of the UK is at crisis point. Just ask all the local councils.

Isn't it overpopulated but with a huge number of invisible illegal/unrecorded people though. Didn't Slough council themselves campaign that the census figures etc were all wrong as the town produces far more sewage than wound be possible with that population?

Maharishi school is on here well I never did.
Good luck to anybody planning on going here.

Still looking for the school dd hopes to attend, it will probably be near the bottom.

Anyway I don't think Tesco targets "up and coming" areas for large supermarkets to be honest. They just want somewhere with a chance of getting planning permission. They wanted a monopoly over the town when they built the big shop buying up and then trying to keep the rival supermarket site in town.

I disagree that Slough is improving. Even if we stick to shopping the high street is run done with fewer decent chain shops than 15 years ago. Its all discount stores now.

Are these all state schools then?
It should read socially selective state schools?

peteneras do you actually know Slough or have you just driven down the A4? It has huge social problems that building a 'feature' bus station can't plaster over.

Being next door to Windsor and Marlow neither negates nor solves the problems in Slough and a developing reputation for being 'trendy' as young commuters move to the crossrail stations is not necessarily going to help.

The infrastructure in Slough is in disarray at the moment and, although there are some great projects going on, like the re-generation of the Britwell, and pockets of really good practise in education/ health/ social care etc there is still a huge amount of work to be done there before it is a place were all residents are safe and have a good standard of living.

Don't they also have a huge Sainsbury's in Slough too? Just another big company that sees the potential in Slough. And anyway, Slough isn't just the High Street. . . it is also the Trading Estate and all the big name world companies along the Bath Road.

Do I actually know Slough? I don’t know how old you are, CharlesRyder but if you’re under 40 years old, then I will tell you I’ve lived and worked in Slough even before you're born!

And that's not to mention I travelled through Slough on my way to Ascot and Eton in the best part of the last 12 years.

They only have sainsburys after the government stepped in though (which was my point about why Tesco was keen to build such a big store). I really don't understand why you think that big (floorspace) supermarkets would make or demonstrate an area is nice though?

I'm not going to argue about it though. If I wanted to set up a call centre or a factory I would consider Slough (or if I needed easy obvious access to drugs or a prostitute or a stolen car). But as a nice place to live or visit I wouldn't. It's my just my opinion of course but it's based on knowing the place well and recently something you seemed to think impossible in your early posts.

Everyone knows Tesco only open up in the most upwardly mobile locations, of course!

My DS is 4. Just before he was born a really beautiful and clearly very expansive new playground was put in at Salt Hill (close to Tesco). Won awards- it was lovely and I took him there all the time.

By the time we left Slough six months ago it was ruined. Obscene graffiti that was never removed, covered in chewing gum, full of beer cans, bottles and worse first thing in the morning suggesting illicit night time use, being mainly used by teenagers as a windbreak for their fags during the day. I wouldn't go there and I'm made of pretty stern stuff.

The council may be trying hard but Slough is not for turning.

*expensive

I would agree that Bracknell is going up in the world. Not Slough though.

I have said in my opening posts on this thread that it was true Slough was a dump some 30 years ago. There was absolutely nothing except for a MacDonald restaurant in the High Street. I had cause to travel into Slough again in the past 12 years or so from London and the transformation of the town was massive compared to what I knew of it before.

I said I was impressed, mightily impressed of the regeneration and some MNers seem to think me ridiculous. Believe me, I’ve also travelled to many other towns in England and Wales in the past so many years and the slump and deprivation that I saw make Slough a paradise! So, it is not about huge Tesco and/or Sainsbury’s floor space as such though I don’t see them building them in the deprived areas mentioned above. And like I said before, drugs, prostitutes, stolen cars, anti-social behaviour, murders, etc. exist in London, Paris and New York too. They are not the sole preserve of Slough alone.

You may be interested to know that Thanet is the 49th most deprived local authority and the most deprived in Kent but has a one of the top ten largest Tesco's in the UK.
I've only been to a Slough once (I always think of the Betjamin poem I'm afraid when ever I see sign post or here anyone mention Slough) so can't comment on it but I doubt the size of a Tesco store has any relationship to the affluence of the neighbourhood.
Here is ruralsville it seems we have a Waitrose or they're building a Waitrose on virtually every corner a far better indicator of local wealth/prosperity.

Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough .....

The gross offence committed on Thanet by London is the brewing scandal of 15 years' time

happy did you know I've actually made it into the FB "overheard in Waitrose" page

In Waitrose the other week:
"Oh no they don't have any organic chopped tomatoes"
DH: "oh my God the Barbarians are at the gate, Waitrose hasn't any organic chopped tomatoes "