Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
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Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
Personally co-ed does not bother me but some have strong preferences and reasons for this. Boys lower down the school would not be a concern though surely?
The new annex can't start for a while maybe? The new co-ed policy would surely need to be in force by the summer term over a year in advance of the first mixed year 7? Otherwise when people were considering schools in the summer term of year 5 they would not know if Weald was mixed or not ?
So the first co-ed year 7 could start in Sept 2016 if all the right things happened in the meantime, but surely it is after this they would have to demonstrate there was sufficient demand for this school to warrant a 100 percent expansion in to a distant annex?
There is some new dfe guidance for academies setting out the factors the dfe would consider in deciding whether a satellite expansion is a new school or not. It is called "Making Significant Changes to an Existing Academy". It covers far more than the gender mix on each site. It looks tough to comply with.
The risk is that if Weald goes co- ed and then the satellite proposal is turned down, the number of places for girls at the school would have approximately halved.
The new annex can't start for a while maybe? The new co-ed policy would surely need to be in force by the summer term over a year in advance of the first mixed year 7? Otherwise when people were considering schools in the summer term of year 5 they would not know if Weald was mixed or not ?
So the first co-ed year 7 could start in Sept 2016 if all the right things happened in the meantime, but surely it is after this they would have to demonstrate there was sufficient demand for this school to warrant a 100 percent expansion in to a distant annex?
There is some new dfe guidance for academies setting out the factors the dfe would consider in deciding whether a satellite expansion is a new school or not. It is called "Making Significant Changes to an Existing Academy". It covers far more than the gender mix on each site. It looks tough to comply with.
The risk is that if Weald goes co- ed and then the satellite proposal is turned down, the number of places for girls at the school would have approximately halved.
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
I have work experience in both single and mixed schools and from this i just believe that single sex education is better 11-16
I appreciate some wont agree with me and of course that is all good, it would be very dull if we were all the same ! But my point is we sent our daughter to an all girls school. Weald promoted themselves (open evenings/prospectus etc) as such, pointing out that they can completely gear teaching methods,curriculums, clubs etc to a 100% girl intake.
But it seems this can all change, not because Weald believe it is better for the school or the pupils - they are not even trying to say this. They are simply stating they need to do it to proceed with the expansion in sevenoaks.
A co-ed school will change the dynamics of the school and although my dd will be in yr 9/10 it will still impact her. I also have another daughter who ideally i wanted to follow her to weald so it would directly effect her too.
It will also mean that he headmistress is only at each site for half the week - overall pretty unsatisfactory
Gosh i sound like such a grouch and really i am not just a worried mum
I appreciate some wont agree with me and of course that is all good, it would be very dull if we were all the same ! But my point is we sent our daughter to an all girls school. Weald promoted themselves (open evenings/prospectus etc) as such, pointing out that they can completely gear teaching methods,curriculums, clubs etc to a 100% girl intake.
But it seems this can all change, not because Weald believe it is better for the school or the pupils - they are not even trying to say this. They are simply stating they need to do it to proceed with the expansion in sevenoaks.
A co-ed school will change the dynamics of the school and although my dd will be in yr 9/10 it will still impact her. I also have another daughter who ideally i wanted to follow her to weald so it would directly effect her too.
It will also mean that he headmistress is only at each site for half the week - overall pretty unsatisfactory
Gosh i sound like such a grouch and really i am not just a worried mum
kent mum
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
Can you type out the letter? Doesn't it point out that if the school goes mixed but the annex proposal is not accepted that this approximately halves the number of girls that Weald can take? Or does it make it sound as though they are hoping to admit boys and start using the annex all at the same time?
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
Hi Mystery,
The letter is too long to type ( and my typing too poor) and is completely non specific about how it would be implemented at the original weald site or at the proposed new site.
it only says "it is anticipated the expanded school would not take its first intake until 2016" " kcc have concluded that there will be insufficient year 7 capacity in areas of sevenoaks,tonbridge and TW. The shortfall is currently 4 forms"
"given the need for wok to become co-ed in order to submit a revised proposal governors are keen to gather your opinion on a change before proceeding further"
the tick box section states
yes - expand into sevenoaks and become co-ed
no - remain in tonbridge with current admission policy
i know some one who verbally asked the school and they said "off record" admissions at tonbridge would be 2016 too at the earliest
All seems pretty wooly but maybe this is not unusual
The letter is too long to type ( and my typing too poor) and is completely non specific about how it would be implemented at the original weald site or at the proposed new site.
it only says "it is anticipated the expanded school would not take its first intake until 2016" " kcc have concluded that there will be insufficient year 7 capacity in areas of sevenoaks,tonbridge and TW. The shortfall is currently 4 forms"
"given the need for wok to become co-ed in order to submit a revised proposal governors are keen to gather your opinion on a change before proceeding further"
the tick box section states
yes - expand into sevenoaks and become co-ed
no - remain in tonbridge with current admission policy
i know some one who verbally asked the school and they said "off record" admissions at tonbridge would be 2016 too at the earliest
All seems pretty wooly but maybe this is not unusual
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
Aha, so the consultation is about going co-ed and opening a satellite. No options other than yes/ no?
Woolly - yes, I agree. If you look at the document I mentioned earlier you will see how a statutory consultation for a major change should be done. maybe this is not the real consultation but it's not great I agree.
Woolly - yes, I agree. If you look at the document I mentioned earlier you will see how a statutory consultation for a major change should be done. maybe this is not the real consultation but it's not great I agree.
Last edited by mystery on Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
Thanks Mystery, so do you think this is just a first stage preliminary consultation ?
I see from other media that sevenoaks council are objecting planning permission to KCC can they do this - i though KCC decided and could overall ?
I see from other media that sevenoaks council are objecting planning permission to KCC can they do this - i though KCC decided and could overall ?
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
The district council can object. The county council can approve. They have to go through due process and comply with planning law and guidance I guess. The free school is safe - there are central powers to but out the middle-man, so to speak, for free schools.
I don't know the ins and outs - just a lay person - but I wouldn't have thought it was possible to approve the building of an empty school annex for which no school has received permission to expand into it. If it isn't legal to do this, but the council does approve it, I suppose the decision could be challenged by some organisation somewhere or other?
Has anyone read this document?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ng-academy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It is very recent and very relevant to both the expansion decision and the co-ed decision.
Criteria for being an expansion and not a new school are hinted at; I would have thought that if the annex met these hinted at criteria it could be quite hard to make it a desirable situation for both pupils and staff.
I don't know the ins and outs - just a lay person - but I wouldn't have thought it was possible to approve the building of an empty school annex for which no school has received permission to expand into it. If it isn't legal to do this, but the council does approve it, I suppose the decision could be challenged by some organisation somewhere or other?
Has anyone read this document?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ng-academy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It is very recent and very relevant to both the expansion decision and the co-ed decision.
Criteria for being an expansion and not a new school are hinted at; I would have thought that if the annex met these hinted at criteria it could be quite hard to make it a desirable situation for both pupils and staff.
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
Excellent, thank you... looks good reading 
kent mum
Re: Cunning plan for a Weald of Kent grammar annex in 7oaks?
The only way for the Sevenoaks annexe to be created is if Weald goes co-ed. All other legal avenues have been exhausted. The annexe will enable 180 West Kent students per year, who would otherwise be denied a grammar school place (despite passing the 11 plus), to obtain a grammar school education.
It therefore seems pretty selfish to be more worried about your daughter in year 10 being mildly inconvenienced by the existence of boys in year 7, as compared to 180 students per year being denied a grammar school place.
Can you imagine the devastation on the faces of the 180 West Kent children who pass the 11 plus, only then to be told that they won’t be getting a grammar school place? Are you volunteering to tell them?
It therefore seems pretty selfish to be more worried about your daughter in year 10 being mildly inconvenienced by the existence of boys in year 7, as compared to 180 students per year being denied a grammar school place.
Can you imagine the devastation on the faces of the 180 West Kent children who pass the 11 plus, only then to be told that they won’t be getting a grammar school place? Are you volunteering to tell them?