School - BBC 2 - 9 pm

[HollowTalk]

Anyone watching?

These are my local schools - Castle is a school that people have been prepared to move house out of Bristol to get into, and to travel out of catchment for. It got into the Times top secondaries list this year for GCSE. Which is why there is such shock in the teachers’ responses, it’s a good school, but this extra financial pressure is new and they can see the damage it’s doing.

Bit further on, and the nature and scale of the graffiti just reinforces my point, the posters who think schools like this don't exist and will argue and insult people based on that delusion need a wake up call

@Mimena

That's really interesting.

They are not portraying it as that sort of high demand desirable school whatsoever

TBF, the school is falling apart a bit. And I think its popularity may be dropping a little, though it was oversubscribed last time. You’ll understand why when you see the school in next week’s programme! I don’t have kids there, mine are at primary, but we’ve been on open evenings and to events.

I remember graffiti incident, I don’t think the police ever found out who did it. But the local town raised money to pay for the removal and repairs needed.

@RubyViolet - I went to this school and now live locally again. I got into Oxford with three As as did many of my peers. Our teachers were in the main outstanding, supportive and passionate. I am so grateful to Castle School: it was an amazing school, a beacon of state comprehensive schooling - as previous posters say, people move for this school still.

Can you imagine what other schools are like if you take into account the above? It is naive to think this is anything less than the tip of the iceberg. Our government is killing education and letting down our children so so badly in terms of their future and their wellbeing. The teachers are doing the best they can but it's horrific for them.

When will we all collectively wake up? I can't sleep as I feel so incredibly sad.

Yes lulupeg it’s an important point - this is not a sink school, this impact is not restricted to less desirable schools. In the words of MN it’s a fairly leafy comp. So what was shown tonight is everywhere.

Very interested to see next week’s episode, with the school that’s in special measures - which used to be on equal pegging with Castle results wise.

Yes exactly Mimena.

Is it Marlwood next week? It was seen as equally good and in some ways better (lots of healthy competition when I went there). I was there 92-99 btw so not a million years ago.

Thornbury is still very leafy, very middle class and lots of incoming yummy mummy types. It's a great area. My husband is a primary school teacher and sadly things like asbestos or plugged drains or massive cuts are beyond typical in every school today. In fact he was hypothesising that Castle is suffering now precisely because it's a good area - funding is being cut more from schools doing well.

My kids won't go to Castle as we have an even better(IMO), non academy school on our doorstep - but who knows what state that school will be in in a few years' time.

This crisis is huge. On the one hand I'm shocked to see my school in such a bad way - but on the other hand this is not in the slightest bit surprising. The toxicity of this government is far reaching and will completely screw the current generation of kids over.

Can you imagine the outrage if parents realised how many schools were riddled with asbestos. Teachers are told not to put drawing pins or nails into the affected surfaces. Teachers are potentially exposed to asbestos long term, kids are sitting in these classrooms everyday.

These are my local schools - Castle is a school that people have been prepared to move house out of Bristol to get into, and to travel out of catchment for. It got into the Times top secondaries list this year for GCSE.
This is really interesting. I'm just comparing this to our sparkly new building in one of the 'roughest' areas of Bristol. We are a MAT and really feeling the cuts but staff morale is still pretty high and it feels like a good school to be in. I expect many of the Castle type parents wouldn't even consider our school? It's interesting.

Sauvignon I think one reason why the schools here are a little less popular now is that the relocation out of Bristol has slowed down, as the secondaries there have got better. More kids from S Glos are now heading to Bristol schools.

I got into Oxford with three As as did many of my peers.

wow the days of getting into oxford with 3 as are long gone

Just watched it on catch up.
Such an eye opener.
Very sad for the teachers and pupils.
Impossible situations to be in.

Really interesting to hear your experience of it lulupeg and Mimena

@smithsally884 - what do you need these days? This was 1999. My offer after interview was actually AAB. My husband's was the same.

Mimena our local school is KLB (Glos) which has a rapidly shrinking catchment so I think the exodus from Bristol (and elsewhere) is still there but yes as you say, Bristol options have improved (we originally wanted to live in Bristol but house prices vs school choices meant we were better off further out).

poor Chelsea seems a bad case of bullying poor little thing.

wow the days of getting into oxford with 3 as are long gone

That might change with the new linear exams and students only getting one shot, rather than being able to retake multiple modules. Last year, we had 4 students get places on just 3 As for different colleges (plus high marks on the ‘entrance exams’.

I thought Oxbridge would only ask for 3 x A or A*s, even though the candidates might achieve more.

My sister's an A level English teacher - one of her students was told by Oxford to only do 3 A levels and to focus on reading around the subject.

Name change

Just checking my name change worked.

I have a child at this school. The teachers are fuming about the highly overpaid academy leaders. Most of the teachers at this school are great and are being asked to do more and more for less and less.

Next weeks programme is on Marlwood which is our alternative school in the area. Everyone is avoiding sending their child to Marlwood.

Oh.

And could the senior leadership please give funding for the maths department to have some textbooks?

The teachers are fuming about the highly overpaid academy leaders.

I thought so! Very easy for them to tell already low paid staff they are going to have pay deducted when (a) you don’t have to tell them yourselves and (b) you don’t take a pay cut yourself. MATs can be a very unfair use of public money
It’s lovely you say that most of the teachers are great.

My DDs go to Castle and DD1 was in the featured class. There were rumours that the graffiti was done by ex pupils, but no one was ever caught.
Next week will be an eye opener.

I saw this earlier. I agree the staff seemed fab. The whole thing really traps them as people. In that they rightly said that they can't just not support the children but they should not be expected to do that unpaid . It's so wrong. They all seemed very distressed at not being able to provide what the children desperately need.

Poor Chelsea. So smart. And so desperate to protect her mum from knowing what sounded like awful racist bullying. I know she set off the fire alarm but she carried alot for someone so young. I hope she realises now she doesn't need their approval. Not if that's how she has to get it in sure she will go far. Her mum should be really proud of her.

And yes, that man with his flashy car while the teachers dont even have a working sink. Not right

@Castle999. Yep, know what you mean about Marlwood. It's like a zoo!