Skinners School consulting to change admission for 2019

[salsa]

It has hit a nerve because these 'local' places are a smokescreen.

The sole purpose is to exclude children that fall under another authority - if anybody at Wilmington Girls was bothered about any correlation between distance, travelling and tiredness and parent non-engagement, they wouldn't list parishes like Sevenoaks and Wrotham (and a whole lot more) as a preference to Bexley.

You’ve got a point there. I don’t know how these schools are not contravening the Greenwich Ruling. Bexley residents are much closer to some of the Dartford schools, but with the new parishes catchment they are now excluded. These schools are indeed local to Bexley children.
Moreover, Bexley schools go on distance and a Kent child who didn’t pass the Kent test, but did pass the Bexley test would gain a place at the Bexley grammars.

Salsa

[mystery]

It has hit a nerve because these 'local' places are a smokescreen.

The sole purpose is to exclude children that fall under another authority - if anybody at Wilmington Girls was bothered about any correlation between distance, travelling and tiredness and parent non-engagement, they wouldn't list parishes like Sevenoaks and Wrotham (and a whole lot more) as a preference to Bexley.

I absolutely agree thickasabrick. But you are being kind saying it is about excluding children from another authority. In Kent it is quite often about excluding children from a different district council area. Maybe even from outside a certain town.

The Greenwich judgement seemed to get forgotten a long time ago. As long as you can call a county boundary something else it is considered ok.



Dart ford sounds very unwelcoming. One day they will regret it when everyone who lives in Dartford looks the same.

And the arguments on here are so illogical sometimes. It is the total time taken by the school journey from start to finish that affects the child - not the actual distance as the crow flies. And sitting at a table on a train on a longish journey could be useful time compared with a shortish journey strap hanging on the tube. And waiting a long time for a short public transport journey is a waste of time too. And a whole lifetime could be wasted at a dreadful school around the corner rather than one the child prefers a reasonable distance away.

Skinners draft admissions policy is similar to the "west Kentish" ones adopted by tgs and Judd in recent years but more of a dog's breakfast in the way it is written. Yes, good news for west Kent boys but disappointing for equally or more deserving others.

Fortunately, people do not seem to be so parochial about their litter bins, sports centres, street lights, public conveniences etc. But I do have an in law who did not like people from outside her small town shopping in her supermarket.

[salsa]

I agree, Mystery. If the people around Dartford insisted on local teachers, I’m afraid they would lose an awful lot of teachers. The same ones who travel with the students using the same trains!

Salsa

[mystery]

Oh yes - that could get really tricky - local teachers for local schools for local pupils and no cross-county or cross-district border allowed.

In part, admissions is a bit of a mess because individual academies all write their own policies. But, kcc itself understands that your closest school as the crow flies could be outside Kent and writes its free school transport policy without regard to the Kent boundary.

Fortunately, from where we are, a long way from any Kent school, schools outside Kent do let our children in and do not treat them as though they are from a different planet. And some of the teachers commute from London as it is a relatively quick train journey.

[LocalTWmum1]

Some good news for residents of Goudhurst and Horsmonden, looking at the updated admissions arrangements for 2019, is that they are now included as named parishes in the Skinners' catchment area after being missing from the initial consultation. A big relief for some parents in these villages I imagine! http://www.skinners-school.co.uk/admiss ... -for-2019/

[mystery]

If Skinners drop sibling criteria, and just concentrate on distance, it would be fantastic change for the children living more locally.

But none of the grammars in West Kent do that. They focus more and more on people who live in particular parishes, districts or sections of a county (Kent). They perpetuate the myth of "local" schools for "local" children when really meaning they don't want people from outside Kent, or some much smaller part of Kent, in their schools.

I still do not get why many people feel that children should go to a school in the same education authority that there house is in --- that this is who the school is for. Nor do I get the logic of the assumption that this means a shorter school journey. Round here it certainly does not.

[Sorrel]

If Skinners drop sibling criteria, and just concentrate on distance, it would be fantastic change for the children living more locally.

But none of the grammars in West Kent do that. They focus more and more on people who live in particular parishes, districts or sections of a county (Kent). They perpetuate the myth of "local" schools for "local" children when really meaning they don't want people from outside Kent, or some much smaller part of Kent, in their schools.

I still do not get why many people feel that children should go to a school in the same education authority that there house is in --- that this is who the school is for. Nor do I get the logic of the assumption that this means a shorter school journey. Round here it certainly does not.

It doesn't happen like that in most of the country - a huge number of London children go to school in another London borough etc. Presumably it's because there's an expectation that if you're in Kent and you pass the 11+, there will be a grammar place for you, and that 25% of the cohort will be in that boat. They're scrabbling around to create more places as the population increases. If the whole country had a grammar model, or if Kent was like Bromley and had a few superselectives with no expectation of entitlement to a place, then there would be less attention to county boundaries.

[mystery]

Yes, I can see that might be the psychological explanation. But it makes me ponder over three further things:

1. Why does having a child who has passed a test make some people feel as though they are more entitled to a place at a publicly funded selective school than a test passer who lives over the local authority border?

2. Every year, more than 25% of Kent pupils get to Kent grammars so why do some people get in such a sweat over OOC children?

3. Do some people get over-heated about local authority borders and comprehensive admission policies?

[Woodham]

I welcome this change - local schools for local kids

I also have this quaint notion that schools should be an integral part of their local community.

It would be better if all Kent GS had the same qualification score like Bucks ... go local.

Totally agree with all of you.

I've heard ludicrous stories of children from inner London travelling crazy distances in order to commute to and from grammar schools in Bexley and Kent! Yes, most parents residing in Bexley and Kent sympathise with the lack of decent inner London schools, however, as ''LocalTWmum1'' said, local schools should be for local children!

[salsa]

We get into this argument every year. If you read up thread you’ll find counter arguments with respect to how local a Kent school can be as Kent children can travel further than a South London child to get to the same school; the journey can be more complicated; Kent children go to schools out of Kent; etc.

Salsa