Bright pupils could continue to miss out on grammar school places in west Kent following one family’s failed battle against ‘super-selection’.
The Judd School in Tonbridge and The Skinners’ School in Tunbridge Wells – both controlled by The Skinners’ Company – will carry on accepting high-scoring children from outside the county after an independent adjudicator ruled in their favour.
Parents of pupils who live in the west were angered earlier this year when their children were offered grammar places as far away as Folkestone in the east – a problem that will likely be repeated next year as a result of the appeal decision.
Independent education advisor Peter Read told Kent on Sunday an opportunity to ease the pressure on other schools in the county had been missed.
He said: “Both Judd and Skinners’ have gone down the super-selective route in the past 10 years so the process is now established and to take it away would have been quite an important decision.
“I don’t think the adjudicator looked at all the issues. The effect on Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for instance is massively relevant as it is already overcrowded and cannot cope with the extra children it has taken on.
“But the key issue is that Judd and Skinners’ have pulled in 20 pupils each from East Sussex alone, which means local children are being forced out of west Kent and that there is now intense pressure on those taking their 11-plus to perform.”
In its response to the school adjudicator, The Skinners’ Company argued that selecting children geographically would prompt families to move to “an enclave of expensive housing”.
A statement released following the decision read: “Both schools remain concerned by the disparity between the number of students in west Kent who are deemed selective and the number of selected places available in west Kent.
“They will continue to work closely with the local authority (Kent County Council), whose responsibility it is, to help resolve this situation.”
Earlier this year Mr Read revealed to KoS how 268 youngsters living as far away as Greenwich and Lewisham had snapped up places at grammar schools in the west and north-west of the county.
Eight Kent grammar schools also turned away more than 40 first-choice children who had passed their 11-plus tests, compared to just three last year.
He said this week: “This abdication of responsibility by the Skinners’ Company schools for the shortage of grammar school places is astonishing.
“They know well that if they were to offer places to local boys first, the problem would all but vanish.
“The 42 boys from East Sussex offered places at Judd and Skinners’ in March equates with the number from the west Kent selective area denied places at a local grammar school but were instead directed to grammar schools in Folkestone or Sittingbourne.
“There is therefore little disparity, directly contrary to their claim.
“I would also have expected KCC to have responded more vigorously to the adjudicator, but I can’t see from the report that they have.
“For months the politicians have argued that the super-selective procedures have caused the problems in west Kent, so why hasn’t anything been done about it?
“This was the perfect opportunity and it has been missed.”
Late last year, KCC’s former cabinet member for school organisation Cllr Mark Dance told KoS that if it were down to the council, it would build a new grammar school in west Kent.
However, he said such a plan would never see the light of day while the Government was still controlled by Labour.
Cabinet member for education Cllr Sarah Hohler said: “The family challenged the admissions arrangements for the Judd and Skinners’ schools as is their right under the new School Admissions Code.
“KCC provided contributions as part of the adjudicator’s investigation and indeed has sympathy with some of the issues raised by the family.
“The adjudicator has now made his ruling and the admissions arrangements will stand for 2010.
“KCC will continue to engage in discussions with the governors of these and other west Kent schools when setting admissions arrangements for future years."
POSTED: 19/07/2009 18:00:00
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