Secretary of state does U turn over Khalsa School decision

[mystery]

So perhaps there should be a similar law as for grammar schools - no new ones but expanding existing ones is allowed.

On the issue of whether or not there is a need for the places - if arbitrary council boundaries are taken into account then no, but if you were to look at an area including stoke poges and slough, then yes? School place planning is not really just supposed to be done strictly by authority boundaries and academies fudge the boundaries still further as the local authority us pretty much an irrelevance. It's all public money - not as if schools are funded directly by people's council tax.

The website makes non-Sikhs look more welcome than many church schools would make an atheist or person from another religion feel. Is this not the case in reality?

The free school in sevenoaks ( Christian) had a lot of antagonism too but, in reality, most people who use it are very pleased with it and it is more and more oversubscribed each year.

The primary school in Stoke poges is surely much bigger than a village that size must need and children have to be shipped in?

[guest666]

Since the school has just been found to breach the admissions code, discriminating on faith grounds, it probably isn't that welcoming for other faiths.

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And the DoE reportedly paid £4 million for the Green Belt site well over the market value while Slough Council refused to allow the use of a disused school site for this school.

[drummer]

The primary school in Stoke poges is surely much bigger than a village that size must need and children have to be shipped in?

There are a lot of young families in the area, the primary school is very popular and is oversubscribed by catchment children. A couple or 3 years back I know that at least 3 out-of-catchment siblings didn't get in.

[mystery]

Are all 400 children walking to school?

[scary mum]

400? It will be 840 when full. No parking do 6th formers will have to park in the narrow roads (no pavements mostly). Most will be bussed in in 100 seater buses down narrow lanes, as well as past a hospital where there is already a problem due to parking in the road. Or do you mean 400 at the primary school? I have no idea. Why?

[Guest55]

Are all 400 children walking to school?

Do they all walk at your children's primary? I'm not sure why you keep commenting when you know nothing about this village or the geography of the area.

[mystery]

I was not commenting, I was asking a question. The legislation for free schools is the route by which a lot of school places have been and will probably be created. It is interesting to see and try to understand the hurdles.

When you read about stoke poges in the national press etc you get the impression it is a tiny village with one road through it and no traffic or reason for anyone other than the villagers to be in the village, and that it is a long way from Slough. But on closer inspection it has a population of 4000 and a primary school with 400 children in it, quite a few roads, some hi tech companies employing people there, and it's a stone's throw from slough.

So I was just wondering if there was already a traffic problem from the 400 strong primary school which I thought might perhaps not be filled by villagers only, and how much difference another 800 passing through would make.

I'd say everyone walks to our local school but the one my children go to has terrible parking problems in a truly tiny village - but it is only for total of 30 mins a day that it bungs up the village.

[Guest55]

It's more than 'a stone's throw' - you need to drive through a few other villages first. All the roads are single carriageway and winding and there are other Primaries at Farnham Common and Farnham Royal as well as Iver Village and Iver Heath.

[mystery]

A short drive unless you are an Olympic stone thrower like me. Under 2 or 3 miles from khalsa primary, I think.

[Dollydripmat]

The school is in the wrong place. There are no pavements, it's quite dangerous on a winding road. Children wouldn't be able to walk there. I have no idea where parents can park (if they drop off) as the road is very long and unsuitable to park. The area surrounding is full of large beautiful houses , the school stands out like a sore thumb! Dollyx