Confirmed more places will go west from east

[Ramsgate Mum]

I agree with you Village Dad, I think the OOC are the problem here.
Chatham House and Clarendon House have already had 30 places removed through the creation of the Ramsgate Federation so the removal of places is already starting. I understand that there has been a falling birth rate in the east of the county but the areas they are looking at removing places from, Dover, Folkestone and Thanet are now served by HS1. I know families (including us) who have moved to these areas because of the rail link and I imagine more will follow. Will East Kent get these places back if they need them in the future?

[mitasol]

The birth rate has been rising and many areas are now struggling to cater to the influx of Primary age children.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/201 ... s-increase

Will East Kent get these places back if they need them in the future?

So it would seem to be a very relevant question.

[mystery]

What is HS1 mentioned in the last thread but one above? It sounds like a strain of Avian flu!

[mystery]

It is indeed unfortunate that all counties have boundaries. Children flow across county boundaries right across the country. There is nothing peculiar about Kent, or West Kent in that respect.

But maybe our traffic is just a little different in some ways - from West Kent we mainly export children who can't / don't want to go to our grammar schools (be they the top 25% grammars, or superselectives) and we mostly import children who can get into superselectives.

This should improve our overall educational statistics for Kent LEA as a whole (and if it doesn't, maybe our schools aren't that great after all, so let the OOCs have the places!!)

[Villagedad]

What is HS1 mentioned in the last thread but one above? It sounds like a strain of Avian flu!

I think its High Speed 1, the new fast commuter train service from Ashford into London

[Ramsgate Mum]

Not sure what everyone makes of this? If Michael Howard is right, West Kent needs to think about a plan B.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/ ... _kent.aspx

[mystery]

Unless Cllr Carter is being misquoted in the press articles linked to this thread, he really does not sound like the brightest bunny. Michael Howard makes more sense in this more recent article

[sherry_d]

Any plans to cut the number of pupils admitted to grammar schools in east Kent are unlikely before 2016, according to Michael Howard MP

Thats just a long waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, why were they talking like it would happen tommorow.

[mystery]

Like you, I just don't know why there a newspaper quotes from Cllr Carter at this point in time. But unless I have missed it, I haven't seen anything on here that anyone has read in a paper which says that Council approved a plan on such and such a date to move x school places from East Kent to West Kent by (date).

All I have seen is stuff saying that it is Cllr Carter's idea and he is asking council officers to look into the feasibility of it.

There must be some political reason for saying it now when it is just an "idea".

[long and winding road]

As a parent of an OOC child who is hoping for a place at Skinners, it is difficult not to feel at times as though we are "illegal immigrants" sneaking in and taking something which doesn't belong to us - but are we really the problem? Aren't we are simply doing what is best for our children within the rules of the current system? If the system is wrong- then change it. I don't think it is useful or helpful to put the blame on OOC families - we aren't breaking any rules or laws.

It isn't just Kent either that has this problem - I think it is probably nationwide- we live very close to St Olave's but are also applying to Skinners/Judd (miles away)because St Olave's is Super Selective as well and there is a chance that a child from much further away gets a place ahead of us. It's the system - not sure what the solution is but whatever happens it needs to be applied nationally and not just to schools in Kent.