FULL STORY: Academy objections thrown out by government officials

1:34pm Tuesday 4th September 2012 in High Wycombe By Simon Farr

Academy objections thrown out by government officials Academy objections thrown out by government officials

OBJECTIONS made against the admissions policy by rival schools and the county council have been thrown out by an independent adjudicator.

The Office of the Schools Adjudicator rejected claims the system was not fair, would disadvantage local children and that the school had inadequately consulted other schools in the area and the public.

Dr Bryan Slater also refused to uphold objections over the academy’s removal of its catchment area and those that allege ‘new selection contrary to The Schools Admissions Code was being introduced’.

In his determination, Dr Slater said the above objections were "unfounded".

He said banding is legal and allowed under the code, and he had "seen no evidence" that the new policy was unfair on either pupils applying for a place or to other schools.

And after studying an impact analysis from the school using county council data, Dr Slater felt it was a "reasonable assessment" that more children who live closer to Highcrest would actually gain a place in the new system – contrary to objections from other parties.

He also backed the use of the NVR, calling it "nationally recognised" test which would give a "reflection of ability which is accurate".

But Dr Slater did, however, asked Highcrest to reword the new arrangements in a clearer manner to ensure they fall in line with The School’s Admissions Code.

Delighted Highcrest principal Shena Moynihan, who had been braced for objections said: "We’re delighted as not only does it mean that all the hard work has been worthwhile, but actually what we wanted to do, to make Highcrest a family school, is now a reality.

"Every single aspect of the decision - it’s fair, it’s not selection, it’s legal, the banding is fine, the test is the best test available - everything we’ve said, the adjudicator has agreed with.

"And it wasn’t just Dr Slater, the notetaker was Dr Elizabeth Passmore, the country’s chief adjudicator - I guess they knew it was groundbreaking.

"But the main thing for us is it’s fair and lawful, and for people to still say otherwise on various websites is just ludicrous."

The determination from the Schools Adjudicator listed the following as objectors against Highcrest’s admissions policy:

• Mr D Berry

• 11 Secondary Schools: (Cressex Community School, Great Marlow School, Holmer Green Secondary School, Princes Risborough School, Sir William Ramsay School, St Augustine and St Bernard’s Catholic School, The Amersham School, The Beaconsfield School, The Chiltern Hills Academy, The Misbourne School, The Wye Valley School)

• Buckinghamshire County Council

• Dr K Simmons

• Mr J Bajina

• Three primary schools: (King’s Wood School, Beechview School, The Marsh School)

• Ms R Hickman

Comments(19)

Welwyn Dowd says...
2:21pm Tue 4 Sep 12

So, if a kid living 50 yds away fails the 11+, fails Highcrest's Entry Exam where does the Council send them? Marlow, Beaconsfield?

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Darren Hayday says...
2:24pm Tue 4 Sep 12

Welwyn Dowd wrote:
So, if a kid living 50 yds away fails the 11+, fails Highcrest's Entry Exam where does the Council send them? Marlow, Beaconsfield?
Cressex of course! :o(

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Welwyn Dowd says...
2:26pm Tue 4 Sep 12

Cressex is not a BucksCC school but another independent Academy!

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Darren Hayday says...
3:03pm Tue 4 Sep 12

Welwyn Dowd wrote:
Cressex is not a BucksCC school but another independent Academy!
http://www.cressex.b
ucks.sch.uk/index.ht
ml

Unless you know something that I don't - I'm under the impression that its still run by BCC?

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ArnyP_HW says...
3:10pm Tue 4 Sep 12

..and a darn good school Cressex is (here we go again!)

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J B Blackett says...
3:51pm Tue 4 Sep 12

Cressex appears to have greatly improved going by the recent exam results did better than The Wye Valley or the Beaconsfield Schools.

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Darren Hayday says...
4:01pm Tue 4 Sep 12

Yes I agree that Cressex is doing much better but the issue on the table is...

Where do the kids go that fail their 11+ exam go now that Highcrest uses its entry exams? (which will be what the other Grammar schools will be doing very soon when the 11+ is phased out)

There seems to be a lack of schools in and around Wycombe.

Should we not be looking at building a new school?

I'm sure that the population has increased since the last time a study was carried out as we always see new houses being built in and around the town.

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HighWycombe says...
4:45pm Tue 4 Sep 12

J B Blackett wrote:
Cressex appears to have greatly improved going by the recent exam results did better than The Wye Valley or the Beaconsfield Schools.
The 60% is A* to C in any subject.The 'adjusted' figures which includes Maths and English are in fact 28% and it is this value by which the government rates schools.

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J B Blackett says...
5:26pm Tue 4 Sep 12

HighWycombe wrote:
J B Blackett wrote:
Cressex appears to have greatly improved going by the recent exam results did better than The Wye Valley or the Beaconsfield Schools.
The 60% is A* to C in any subject.The 'adjusted' figures which includes Maths and English are in fact 28% and it is this value by which the government rates schools.
You may or may not be correct in your specific assertion but the site below seems to point to greatly improved results at Cressex - unless the reporter got it wrong , of course.

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J B Blackett says...
5:28pm Tue 4 Sep 12

http://www.guardianp
ublic.co.uk/cressex-
community-school-par
tnership

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HerculePoirot says...
8:30pm Tue 4 Sep 12

The actual decision etc is here:
http://www.education
.gov.uk/schoolsadjud
icator/decisions/dat
abase/a00213234/ada2
262hca

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mumsworld says...
9:57pm Tue 4 Sep 12

It's not an issue about how good Cressex is, or not, but how far I'd have to travel to take my child to school. Why should I have to traipse all the way over to the other side of town, in rush hour traffic, when there is a perfectly good secondary school 5 minutes away. Will BCC be updating the catchments for other schools? as we have other secondary schools far closer than Cressex (which has always been our '2nd' catchment school)

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itstheprincipal says...
11:36pm Tue 4 Sep 12

Interesting to note in an article by MICHAEL GOVE, Education Secretary, on 19th Aug 2012 he said ".And the reason they’re so good (academies) is that they enjoy all the freedoms of private schools — the freedom to pay good staff more, the freedom to innovate with the curriculum, the freedom to insist on tougher discipline — yet they’re also socially comprehensive, open to children of every ability WITH NO SELECTION OR SCREENING OF STUDENTS."
So how did the adjudicator & Highcrest side swipe that one? Hmmm

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BucksResident says...
2:08pm Wed 5 Sep 12

I think the point that most of you don't appear to have grasped is that the test being used at the Highcrest Academy is not selective; there is no pass or fail.

My understanding is that the test results will be used such that an equal percentage of children of all abilities will attend the school.

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faircuppa says...
11:12pm Wed 5 Sep 12

Incredible that people have clearly not read the adjudicator's report and are peddling the same misinformation. All the named individuals seem to be Labour Party. Isn't it time that they campaigned against the 11 plus? Or is it just easier to attach Highcrest?

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LiamGates says...
8:10pm Thu 6 Sep 12

Welwyn Dowd wrote:
So, if a kid living 50 yds away fails the 11+, fails Highcrest's Entry Exam where does the Council send them? Marlow, Beaconsfield?
Actually, it does not! The 1st item on the list is if there is a sibling at the Academy. Then it is by distance!! So the kid who lives 50yards would have a much better chance of getting in than one who lived 1000 yards!! The 'test' is not a pass or fail. It just helps Highcrest get an idea of what band a child would be placed in.
Liam
Student at the Highcrest Academy

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itstheprincipal says...
12:53am Fri 7 Sep 12

Liam also states "The 'test' is not a pass or fail. It just helps Highcrest get an idea of what band a child would be placed in." So why have the 'test' then as it is doing no more than the existing Midys tests which band the children immediately they start year 7? There can only be one reason, & that is to select 'A' students, of which they know they won't get enough of near the school,to vastly improve their GCSE results (which after all have only improved by 4% in the last 2 years & still only stand at 49%,not particularly impressive!), if you still don't believe me take a drive along to West Wycombe where you will see a massive,& I mean MASSIVE billboard advert for Highcrest open evening & testing! Now why would you pay for such a big billboard advert to be placed in an area so far away from your catchment area,apparently there's one near Beaconsfield as well! Who is paying for all this, billboard advertising costs £1000s of £s,you & me,the local community that's who,money that could have been spent on our children,is this school answerable to no one when they squander money? Why,if as the Head says that the school is over-subscribed & is still a 'local school for local children' would you advertise so far away? It wouldn't be to get children from Gerrards Cross, Stokenchurch etc would it!! As I've said before the words 'hidden' & 'agenda' spring to mind. Miss Moynihan needs to come clean & make a statement to the BFP about why she felt the need to advertise so far away,how much this advertising cost & what benefits the current children have lost out on because of this cost,because more & more local families are feeling isolated by the school,but as we all know that's what she wants,LESS Totteridge & Micklefield children & MORE Gerrards Cross & Stokenchuch children.

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Heathen says...
8:57pm Fri 7 Sep 12

The dear old BFP has sensationalised the headline yet again. End of the 11+? As Norm used to say - on yer bike.

Parents will still fight for the right to get their kids an opportunity to take the 11+ and get them into Grammar schools. It's what gives them the best chance of getting to the best Unis (I admit there are some exceptions) but for 95% it's all that matters.

Do the Grammar schools care about Hillcrest? The answer is an emphatic NO. Just look at who the objectors were - out of the 16, 11 were secondary schools who fear that Hillcrest might cream off the best of the rest who failed the 11+.

Storm in a teacup. Not worthy of two pages of print IMHO.

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HerculePoirot says...
3:23pm Sun 9 Sep 12

"Parents will still fight for the right to get their kids an opportunity to take the 11+ and get them into Grammar schools.. It's what gives them the best chance of getting to the best Unis (I admit there are some exceptions) but for 95% it's all that matters." Only 30% of children get into grammar schools, so by your logic the selective system leaves 65% dissatisfied. I'm amazed that upper schools object to banding but not the 11+ which is the root of the problems.

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