Effects of a two tier system in Burnham

[scary mum]

The article below shows what happens in a fully selective area. This group posts some frankly silly articles, but I think this one is fairly accurate:
http://localequalexcellent.org.uk/index ... ifference/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Mods, please delete if not OK to link to this group)

[tiffinboys]

As the article highlights, the solution is to look at the staffing and leadership of this non-selective school and the outcome of the local primary schools. Also it is not clear, how many of the children in this grammar school are local children, are there OOC children due the effect of the 121 cutoff?

[quasimodo]

In order to change you would need the parents and teachers from the grammar to consent to combine both schools.

https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/09/15/gr ... -less-abl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[scary mum]

Many of the children at Burnham Grammar are not local and many travel a considerable distance, although I believe this is reducing as the school has become more popular. Burnham is on a good train line & close to the motorways so I would imagine this encourages grammar school tourism.

[tiffinboys]

As there are fewer local children in local grammar, the rest would more likely to be in local non-selective, making it much closer to comp. So the solution is more likely to improve school's leadership, staffing and school dicsipline.

[Guest55]

Burnham Upper has struggled for years. The LA put in loads of support but teachers did not seem to stay so any improvements were short-lived. When it last went into SM it HAD to become an Academy [Bucks didn't 'give up' on it as the article implies] and I seem to remember it was difficult to find a sponsor.

E-Act has had the same isues with teachers not staying ...

[drummer]

BCC* did fail the school over many years and I do think it was the right decision to remove Burnham their control. However, it was unfortunate that it was E Act who took over . E Act themselves (i.e. apart from Burnham) have had had a number of significant difficulties and a series of Ofsted inspections in 2014 led to it losing 10 schools from its 'portfolio'. A subsequent inspection series conducted last year wasn't terribly inspiring either. The report can be read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ection.pdf

I agree that the fact of selection exacerbates the situation but it is by no means the cause (and I am not the world's biggest 'fan' of selection). Leadership is hugely important and there are plenty of schools with similar demographics and entry profiles that do a much better job on behalf of their pupils and I believe there are other sponsors who could have done a much better job had they had the capacity to take Burnham on. Burnham Grammar School was languishing itself only a few years back under the err, "laid back" leadership of the previous head, but since Dr Gillespie took over has made steady and determined progress.

Something quite radical needs to happen to provide the education that the children at Burnham Park deserve, and I hope that it does as soon as possible, but selection isn't to blame - there are plenty of rubbish comps out there too.

* This was before the setting up of the Bucks Learning Trust which I believe offers a much better service to schools that its predecessor the Bucks LEA

[Guest55]

drummer - I will PM you as you have completely wrong information.

[drummer]

drummer - I will PM you as you have completely wrong information.

Thanks for your pm Guest55. My information is just fine thank you and obtained through substantial direct experience, close sources and public record.

I hope you will agree that good leadership is critical to school success, without it even the best teachers will flounder, E-Act has not provided sufficiently good leadership nor, in my opinion, a sufficiently radical or rigorous school model (evidenced by their systematic failures across many schools in different areas).

It is hard to know what to do about it as accountability is (again in my opinion) much weaker with academies as they effectively only have oversight from Sec of State.

[Guest55]

There is another side to this which is better kept in PMs but I have evidence too.