Is Sir William Borlase scrapping 11+?

[pmmum]

Several children seem to have come home from Borlase induction day yesterday under the impression that this 2012 is the last year that the 11+ will be used to attain entrance. Has anyone else heard this? The news seemed to be that they would move to an entrance exam that tested on 5 areas.

[andyb]

The school's website has a section related to its Academy status which states:-

"•The school will become its own admissions authority. It is important to note that the school remains fundamentally and absolutely committed to providing outstanding educational provision for its local community of young people. We will remain a community grammar school where our purpose is to ensure that the young people in the school’s local area all choose SWBGS as their first choice of school because we offer the best educational provision. It is likely that the Governors would seek to buy back the services of the Local Authority, certainly in the first instance, in administering admissions to the school in order to maintain continuity for students and parents."

I have underlined the part relating to the LA administering admissions - maybe it is true that a different form of test will be used after 2012?

[MelW]

I am a current SWBGS parent - they are not scrapping the Bucks 11 plus. Their academy status means they could in the distant future change their admissions criteria but there are no plans to do so at the moment. The school remains pretty unchanged as an academy.

[Sally-Anne]

All the Bucks GS that are not already Academies have applied for Academy status. I believe that, in the interests of fairness, they are committed to continuing with the County-wide 11+ testing scheme for the foreseeable future. The first GS to convert to Academy status was DCGS and the Head declared publicly that there would be no change to the existing arrangements for 11+ testing in the wake of that.

The wholesale conversion of GS to academies is not something I have studied in depth in the light of the consultation on the new Admissions Code, but there will be a period of consultation for any significant changes to Admissions arrangements somewhere along the line, and an obligation to make that consultation public, so "Watch This Space".

S-A

[Rob Clark]

Hi Sally-Anne, surely it would take some time for Academies to introduce a new admissions structure? I can’t believe that it could change as quickly as 2012, though no doubt the Grammar Academies will increasingly use their own procedures for post-Y7 admissions. Hypothetically speaking, I wonder whether the fact that the Bucks GSs may favour an different form of testing in the future could be used as grounds for an appeal?

FYI, Amersham School are also exploring the possibility of seeking Academy status. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the most recent meeting about it as I was abroad on business but will keep you posted.

[Sally-Anne]

surely it would take some time for Academies to introduce a new admissions structure? I can’t believe that it could change as quickly as 2012, though no doubt the Grammar Academies will increasingly use their own procedures for post-Y7 admissions.

It is possible that the arrangements could change that quickly - as you know, the arrangements for post-11+ admissions at DCGS were consulted upon in spring 2010 and came into effect within days. However the scale and cost of 11+ testing will be a significant deterrent to schools opting out of the central Bucks system. I suspect that all the areas where the 11+ has been retained on a significant scale (Lincs, Essex, Kent, etc) will probably retain common testing simply for ease of administration.

Hypothetically speaking, I wonder whether the fact that the Bucks GSs may favour an different form of testing in the future could be used as grounds for an appeal?

Not really - it would be no different to schools in other parts of the country using different types of tests within the same area.

FYI, Amersham School are also exploring the possibility of seeking Academy status.

In total there are 10 Upper Schools considering conversion to Academy status - plus Aylesbury Vale which converted under the old rules.

[Mostlymum]

DCHS expects to get it on August 1st and we were told at the induction that academy status will make absolutely no difference to the school other than to be financially beneficial.

[Guest55]

There is one GS that cannot become as Academy at the moment - a small matter of £1 million plus owed to the LA ....

[jabba7]

I have heard but don't know if it is true that RGS sets it's own 12+ which is a mix of VR and maths. Maybe the schools will think of changing as the current 11+ is not a fair test as I think it should test equally maths and VR.

[scary mum]

BGS converting soon and have said they will not change things. We will see what happens in the future (but I imagine it would be quite a way in the future).