Pupils ‘missing out’ on first-choice schools
November 19th, 2005 - Posted in Online EducationChris Johnston
Thousands of secondary school students have failed to win places at their first-choice school and more than 20,000 have launched appeals, according to a survey released today.
The survey, published in the Times Educational Supplement (TES), found that half of 11-year-olds in some parts of England have been forced to enrol at their school of second, third or even fourth preference.
Some of the most oversubscribed schools have had more than eight applications per place, the survey of almost one-third of local education authorities in England revealed.
And it is feared that the situation will worsen if parents are given more freedom to choose between schools under proposals in the government’s recent education white paper.
Alan Smithers, of Buckingham University, said parents who knew how to benefit from the new system would widen the gap between the best and the worst schools.
Yesterday, Ruth Kelly, the education secretary, told a conference of new headteachers that her plans had been deliberately misunderstood and would not mean a return to the “dark shadow” of grant-maintained schools. She said the new independent trust schools would work with others as an “integral part of their local community”.
There are wide variations in the ability of parents to win a place for pupils at their first-choice secondary school. The TES survey found that children living in areas with fragmented education systems, with large numbers of faith, foundation and academically selective schools, faced the worst admissions problems.
London - where parents should have the greatest choice of schools - is actually the worst-affected area. In Barnet, north London, which has a high number of faith, foundation and grammar schools, just 52% of local pupils got into their preferred school. In Westminster, 59% of parents succeeded, against 65% in Croydon, 66% in Sutton, 70% in Brent and 72% in Hillingdon and Bromley.
Efforts by London’s 33 councils and eight areas surrounding the capital to coordinate their admissions this year have not yet eased the situation. Last month, it was revealed that dozens of children, including 46 in Brent and 20 in Camden, had still not secured a place.
Andy and Penelope McGuire applied to six secondaries in Lewisham, south London, for a place for their son, Jack. In March, they were told there was no space at any and Jack was offered a place at another nearby school that had been placed under special measures. The couple said bottles were thrown at them when they had visited the school.
Mr McGuire, a tour manager, confronted Tony Blair, the prime minister, on a Radio 2 talkback show about Jack’s plight after unsuccessfully appealing the local authority’s decision.
Shortages are not limited to the capital. The survey revealed that more than one in 10 children transferring from primary to secondary school in Derby, Dudley, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Salford, Sandwell, West Midlands, and Kirklees and West Yorkshire failed to get their first-choice school.
A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: “The white paper will make it easier for parents to obtain a school of their choice, while improving the quality of education.”