Proposed admission Criteria B'ham Grammars 2020

[Tonythetiger]

The Schools Of King Edward have made a statement on their Facebook page following the meeting on Tuesday.

New Admissions Proposal

"The proposals are designed to enhance our historic mission of providing high-quality education for the children of Birmingham, regardless of background. They aim to improve accessibility for disadvantaged students; to ensure that there is more priority for local children; and to provide a consistent approach across our family of selective schools.

No admissions system can please everyone. It is not surprising that many more affluent parents, particularly those living outside Birmingham, are unhappy at what they see as a loss of entitlement to a place at their preferred school. On the other hand, we have received many messages in favour of the proposals from parents who have had to send their child across the city, despite achieving a high score in the entrance test. We believe that our schools should be rooted in the communities that they serve.

The consultation runs until 7 January and we will consider the full range of views expressed." - King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham

https://www.schoolsofkingedwardvi.co.uk ... osal-2020/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It’s good to read that there has been plenty of support for the proposals too. For ‘affluent parents living outside Birmingham’ I guess they mean Solihull!

[thirdtimemum]

"
No admissions system can please everyone. It is not surprising that many more affluent parents, particularly those living outside Birmingham, are unhappy at what they see as a loss of entitlement to a place at their preferred school. On the other hand, we have received many messages in favour of the proposals from parents who have had to send their child across the city, despite achieving a high score in the entrance test. We believe that our schools should be rooted in the communities that they serve"

The communities the serve do not stop at a boundary! I live 3 miles away which is closer than most on the catchment but OOC. Also if you have the one and only meeting at Camp Hill then you will get people from affluent areas attend. Where are the meetings at Handsworth and Aston?

[Tonythetiger]

I agree re the meeting, and it wasn’t well publicised at all. I guess the Camp Hill Boys parents are protesting the loudest...

[thirdtimemum]

I agree re the meeting, and it wasn’t well publicised at all. I guess the Camp Hill Boys parents are protesting the loudest...

But for reasons that won't be seen as valid. The children who will be mostly negatively effected by these proposals won't even be aware of it.

The fact that they are posting updates on a Facebook page with only 21 people who 'like' the page says it all.....

[JaneEyre]

The fact that they are posting updates on a Facebook page with only 21 people who 'like' the page says it all.....

"
The communities the serve do not stop at a boundary! I live 3 miles away which is closer than most on the catchment but OOC. Also if you have the one and only meeting at Camp Hill then you will get people from affluent areas attend. Where are the meetings at Handsworth and Aston?

There is clearly an issue here which tends to indicate that there is a cover up.

[Lategate]

So why did the King Edward’s grammar schools take out a rather large advert in the Wolverhampton Express and Star newspaper last year? Probably not targetted at affluent parents, but definitely not aimed at the students they wish to serve in Birmingham.
Unfortunately, if they want to avoid being “exploited” by those hot-housing their children for GS, the whole admissions exam process needs to change, which would be costly and time-consuming.

[JaneEyre]

With my tongue firmly in my cheek, in the recent Sunday Times Parent Power League Tables, KES Stratford was rated the highest state school in the West Midlands, above CHB....admittedly, the narrative did state that IF the table had been ranked on pure exam results, CHB would have been number one, but this ranks ALL aspects of the school and KES Stratford was the stand out first place - apprently parents rate academic, sport, drama, pastoral, uncle Tom Cobbly and all, not JUST academic standards - so there is still hope that children will get a decent education!

KCG, what do you know about parents of CHB's students?
You have absolutely NO idea how well rounded these children are and how the parents who have some means provide them with many extra-curricular activities. The ones whose parents cannot afford extra-curricular activities benefit from the numerous clubs and various activities that the school offers.

In fact, I am irked by reading that children at CHB are from affluent families. There are some, like there are some at FW and all other GS, including Handsworth boys ( because they did not obtain the right score to go to CHB)... but there are also some children who are brought up in dire circumstances.

Because I love reading so much I used to help a young boy for two years with free weekly reading sessions (OK, I know , I am French an my accent is a horribly Frenchie one but I can still ask questions on the text, explain vocabulary and give synonyms!). Two boys of this family have done their secondary schooling a CHB but the whole family lives on benefits due the father's illness and the mother having to be a carer for the latter. When it is winter, they are not able to switch the heating on as it is too expensive. Can everyone reading this forum imagine themselves living through last winter with no heating?????

Can't you realise that GS do truly allow children from a deprived background to receive an excellent education and thus to be able to reach to the top?

[JaneEyre]

So why did the King Edward’s grammar schools take out a rather large advert in the Wolverhampton Express and Star newspaper last year? Probably not targetted at affluent parents, but definitely not aimed at the students they wish to serve in Birmingham.

I am afraid I do not see your point Lategate.
Will poor families spend money on buying newspapers?
I think that the adverts for the GS that everyone can read on the buses are far more useful.

[JaneEyre]

plus this will make all KE schools equal as the intake will be similar across the schools,

The fact that the CH schools could take the students which have the best score allow them to have very bright cohorts that the staff help to fly very very high. Thus CH schools are amongst the best free schools in England.

[JaneEyre]

I have been following this issue with interest. Personally, whilst I am not against some form of catchment area being introduced, I do feel very strongly that distance from the school is not the best solution. It is literally a postcode lottery, and will allow the more affluent, or more creative in acquiring a local address, to benefit at the expense of other potentially brighter pupils who happen to live further afield.

This brings me on to the second issue, namely that anyone living outside of 'Birmingham' will have little or no chance of getting a place. It seems that the currently quoted 'mission statement' from the Foundation has been changed in the past few years. Their archived website from 2014 states their mission as follows:

"The role of the Foundation of King Edward the Sixth is to promote the education of children and young persons living in or around the City of Birmingham by providing and/or assisting its schools to the benefit of the community.

The Foundation aims:
To serve the community of Birmingham and its surrounding area, irrespective of race or creed, by providing schools which aim at the highest standards of academic achievement, in a broad and balanced curriculum together with relevant extra curricular activities"

Maybe it's just me, but it seems as though this has been changed to suit their own purposes, whatever these may be, which makes these proposals seem somewhat less genuine in intent.

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