Author: Wendy Varley
Schools Reorganisation: RIP The Isle of Wight 3-tier Schools System
Friday, 10th July, 2009 at 12:03 pm, Isle of Wight
Island-wide, Isle of Wight Council, School Reform
In this week’s IW County Press you’ll find a special supplement (inside the Weekender section) dedicated not to weddings or fitness or gardening, but Statutory Education Notices.
This is the council’s reorganisation proposals, school by school, laid out in tiny type, in alphabetical order, and that it requires a supplement to carry all those notices (64 of them in total) gives an idea of the massive scale of the plans.
Interestingly, no schools will be “closed”; they are to be “discontinued” (a less emotive word?). So all middle schools are due to be discontinued, as will the five high schools (to become “new” secondary schools through the competition that’s being held; public meetings to hear from proposers are next week), and the primary schools that are due to amalgamate as new schools.
An impassioned campaign by the Chale community to save Chale Primary School has fallen on deaf ears: it is due to be “discontinued” altogether, with displaced pupils offered a choice of Niton or Brighstone Primary as an alternative.
Chillerton & Rookley, Godshill and Wroxall primaries will be “discontinued” to eventually become part of a new amalgamated primary (though initially remaining on their own sites).
In Ventnor St Wilfrid’s, St Boniface and St Margaret’s primaries are to be discontinued, replaced by a single new Catholic and C of E primary school.
East Cowes and Whippingham primaries are to be replaced by an amalgamated new school.
There are notices flagging up the competition proposals for the seven new schools (the reincarnation of the five high schools as secondaries to take pupils from age 11; and the East Cowes/Whippingham, and Godshill area amalgamations), but a look at who is bidding for which school deserves a blog entry of its own.
The statutory notices will be posted outside the affected schools today. There are between four and six weeks to object to, or make comments on, any of the proposals (that’s a deadline of 7 or 21 August, depending on what you are commenting on).
Take a look at the detail, and let us know what you think.
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Update: Previous title: David Pugh Recommending Option Three: 31 Schools... - Schools Reorganisation: Ryde Secondary School Presentations
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Interesting that only some of the notices say they are related to others. Are they suggesting they could close the middles, but not expand the primaries???
What’s in the paper are just the statutory notices (the summary sheets). Much fuller information is in the full proposals. Eduwight or on request.
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Although more interested in the Fairlee (nee Medina)competition, I see that the council are bidding for the new Rural Primary (nee Godshill) school. Didn’t they say they wouldn’t bid because they then couldn’t choose the winner? Who decides now?
But they arn’t going for the local East Cowes Primary??? Odd. Do they not want Acadamies to take away their funding???
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Yes, looks like they wanted there to be a local alternative to the AET bid. The Whippingham/E. Cowes amalgamated primary has a local bid through the EWO Community School Group.
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Interesting that the council’s full proposal is not on the web, with all the others!!!
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I think some of the primary proposals are linked to others because of federations, amalgamations, or changes of site; other primaries would expand/enlarge on their current sites (no link to another school). Some are due to extend their age range but not enlarge, and reduce their admission numbers instead. One puzzle is there’s no mention at all of Yarmouth, Shalfleet or St Helen’s primaries (which were part of the independent review). Anyone know why that is?
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Page 2 of IWCP pull-out says there’s to be more consultation in September before statutory notices. Seems odd. Surely they are all related. If they are closing middle schools there must be RELATED proposals for Y5 & Y6 provision.
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Thanks, Steve. I hadn’t noticed that on p2.
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Are the full proposals on the Eduwight site yet Julie? I can’t see them.
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Proposals ARE on the EduWight Website
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Yes, and here:
http://www.eduwight.iow.gov.uk/schools/reorganisation/statutor.asp
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Thanks, Julie.
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We can ask for paper copies. I think we all should…
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Eco-Island would suffer quite a blow!
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And on the pedestal these words appear.
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
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Those whom I remember as having been involved in setting up the 3-Tier system on the Island were committed educationists, of considerable experience and expertise, who set the very highest standards in all that they did. The same cannot be said of those currently engaged in dismantling that structure. On pp 2-3 of their supplement, the Council Leadership promise the Earth. Can they deliver? Clearly not is the message apparent on p 4 with its various howlers. Those who cannot think clearly or write correctly should not be free to mess with our education system. This is all desperately sad to see – a bit like watching 12 yr olds let loose with mechanical diggers and wrecking-balls in the state-rooms of Osborne House.
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The problem is that our illustrious leader is neither old enough or ecxpereinced enough to climb down and sees this as a battle of wills rather than an education issue…He will not allow HIMSELF to loose, even if education does
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I see we can complain to Mr Moffat, but is there any point?
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Node Hill Middle School’s Key Stage 2 results are now in – the proportion of pupils at or above level four are 78% in Maths, 85% in English and 94% in Science.
Yet the Supreme Leader thinks it’s not worth keeping open…
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Well done to Mr Morris and all his staff at Nodehill. Attending the open night last week for parents of children starting in September, we were very impressed with the positive attitude of the staff despite them knowing that the school will close in two years time.
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Well done to Nodehill.
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Well done to Nodehill and Solent. 92% English, 88% Maths and 96% Science I’m told.
Remind me of those arguments for improving standards…
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Someone said to me yesterday that “discontinued” sounds like last season’s stock at M&S. Very true.
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More weasel words, as ever. They couldn’t bring themselves simply to say ‘closed’ could they? It might frighten the horses.
Reminds me of Willie Rushton, who said that he saw a ‘discontinued’ sign in a supermarket and he realised it was what he wanted on his headstone. Don’t know if he got it, although I believe Spike Milligan has ‘I told you I was ill’ on his (in Gaelic).
Perhaps we could think of something suitable for Node Hill school…
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