The Archer Academy East Finchley

[upthegardenpath]

Thinking of moving in about a year or so, possibly to EF.

I've read the first Ofsted (June 2015) which sounds pretty impressive and I've heard a couple of rave review ps from current parents p, in passing, but it wanted to know what people think of this school, as it's impossible to judge a book by its cover. Views much appreciated!

Have also heard that year 7 from September will be at a new site, in Stanley Rd, so that will become the new address for admissions.

Many thanks.

HissyMissy - can't see where the quoting stops in the above extract. Every school revisits its arrangements for admissions regularly so that's nothing new. I don't think the report says that there will not be feeder schools after 2017, but if this is wrong I am happy to be corrected.

Knowing the strength of feeling on this in the EF area, I would love to think they will move to a distance based criteria or even a lottery, and would be the first to applaud that.

Well we will find out what the next consultation will include in a matter of weeks. If it still includes feeder schools (which is the rumour) then it will be devastating for N2 children. But I hope you are right hissymissy and I am wrong.

My understanding is that they are going to continue with the feeder school system and provide 20 places for children nearest to the school.

If that is true then that is desperately sad. It is no different to what it was offering with the 2017 policy.

Hissymissyn2.....
Like me if you had been at the Archer open evening in October you would of been handed the gloating and cherry picked letter which concluded with "will carry out a formal consultation about the distribution of places across N3 and NW11" which was also on their website. No mention of N2 or "fair mechanism".

The AA only changed their website after several parents complained to the OSA and Education Funding Agency because the OSA had actually determined "the trust will need to consult on a fair mechanism of serving N3 and NW11 as well as N2".

I completely understand why parents are angry. The trustees have stabbed the East Finchley community in the back. Remember Stanley Road was East Finchley recreational land, the AA didn't get either of their 2 preferred sites. If the EF community had not agreed to Barnet selling them the land the school wouldn't be in any of the priority postcodes but EF would still have the land.

Despite being told by the OSA that the feeder school policy does not comply with the Schools Admission Code the Trustees have decided to implement it anyway for 2017. As such there will be children unfairly allocated places that rightly belong to another. Potentially any parent living in a priority postcode who does not get allocated a place can appeal and win.

The feeder schools will benefit from location places before their feeder schools places. The OSA clearly said that was unfair.

I hope very much they do consult on a "fair mechanism" of distributing the places between NW11, N3 and N2 which is quite clearly a postcode allocation split of 50/30/20. Although I don't hold much hope, they'll do anything to guarantee 30 places for those 2 schools in the Hampstead Gardens Suburbs.

TIssunnyupnorth there are only about 20 places for location. The AA are fully aware that there are huge birth/sibling numbers for the next 4 years and they do not want them reducing the number of places to HGS and Brooklands hence why they have implemented feeder school policy not postcode.

The Council told the trust last feb that a postcode code split would be fairer but the trust think they're above everybody and ignored them and were obviously going to try and ignore the OSA determination.

I can see more complaints to the Education Funding Agency and OSA. Especially when the N2 patents wake up to how few places are available to location.

No surprise they didn't get their 6 form funding.

Good luck to the N2 parents.

It's absolutely disgraceful that the school was opened under the premise of a 'local school for local children'. If the admission criteria they have now was part of their original proposal there is no way they would have had the local support that they needed.

I live nowhere near EF but it still makes me angry!

I completely agree TIssunnyupnorth!

It has been divisive and toxic to the communities. Putting schools, parents and friends against each other. Awful.

I have sat and listened to the trustees in meetings say how they didn't want to open a freeschool but had no choice. Some would call them hypocritical as they are now abusing the very system they criticized to secure places for those 2 schools in the HGS.

Just reread everything on this feed. What a sorry sorry state of affairs. "A school for N2, n3 and NW11 in the heart of the East Finchley community" what a joke if tissunnyupnorth is right about the large/obscene number of feeder places for NW11 remaining.

Can someone explain what this is all about? I live near enough to know people who go there, but not close enough to be affected.

Why would people from HGS want to a school in East Finchley for their children - are there not schools in HGS? Or if they wanted a free school, why would they put it in EF? And who are these people anyway who get to decide admissions policy?

No idea GregorSamsa but they have Lyttleton Playing fields which is 3 times the size of Stanley Road. I've never seen more than 5 people on it. They could of built a school on half of it and still been left with playing fields as well as Hampstead Heath. East Finchley now have no playing field and a school only 20ish local children will be able to go to.

well GregorSamsa that will be because planning laws in HGS are very strict so they would not be able to build a free school there and they don't want to go to to their nearest and undersubscribed comprehensive on the other side as they don't think it is good enough for their children.

So they went after EF land instead. We were so naive. I have never regretted signing anything as much as I do that petition. And I know lots of people who feel the same 😢

Oh and the answer to your other question GregorSamsa is that the people who run the school and did a great job getting tax payer's money to fund it, make the decision on who they want at the school

Blimey.

Yes blimey GregorSamsa. In a nutshell they want it to be a private school for a very rich area (HGS has no social housing etc) that the state pay for.

MM1872 didn't know that there had been complaints to the EFA are you able to share the response?

What does EFA mean? East Finchley association?

As hissymissyN2 knows it is the Education Funding Agency...and all I know is that after parents complained the Archer Academy changed their website to what the OSA actually determined. Let's hope they do consult on a "fair mechanism" of distributing places between all 3 postcodes then parents will stop complaining and they can get on with the job of educating children which I hear they do very well.

I am unsurprised that the governors and their supporters - parents of the HGS kids - aren't on here giving their view. I suspect they are playing for time and hoping for Theresa May to change the rules/entrance code. They'd be first in line to convert to a grammar no doubt

Now don't go giving them ideas FanDabbyFloozy!! I've already seen HGS are petitioning to get the new Compton in their reach. Jaw dropping!

What do you mean MM1872

There is an online petition Suca1 which the HGS parents have been recommended to sign "as it would be opened up to residents in NW11".

Couldn't find an HGS one that would be NW11/N2 but did find one for NW2
www.change.org/p/barnet-council-the-compton-school-open-the-new-compton-free-secondary-school-in-nw2

The compton just sent an email asking parents to recommend sites in N2, N3, NW7 and NW2.

Sat in your inbox Hissymissy!? No surprise NW2 boarders NW11 I'm sure they'll be after feeder school places.

I've had an email from the Compton asking parents for site recommendations but certainly not one advising parents to set up a petition to get the school in their area.

Sadly no chance of it being in N2, the Archer Academy sites on the last piece of vacant land. 😢