Norton Knatchbull - increasing intake for this sept 2013?

[womanofkent]

Hi
has anyone else heard whether this is true? DS selected this school taking into account that there were going to be 150 pupils in year 7 but he has now heard that they have increased it to 6 forms of 30 therefore 180 pupils which I presume means these have come through via appeals or waiting lists. With that and a few other changes at the school it seems to have unsettled him. To be honest I wouldn't have thought they had the capacity to increase forms. Nothing on their website and KCC shut for the day.

thanks

[mystery]

What is n k s?

[womanofkent]

Sorry Norton Knatchbull school in Ashford, it is a boys grammar

[Azure]

There is an allusion to it in their governors' meeting here:

http://www.nks.kent.sch.uk/uploads/asse ... 202013.pdf

I generally don't think large schools are a good thing. I wonder what their rationale for doing so was? Funding?

[womanofkent]

thanks Azure
I see on this it says they have offered 162 places which would mean ridiculous class sizes if 5 forms if of course everyone accepted them. I am not too happy either as you choose a school on the information they tell you, but it was DS's 2nd choice anyway so now he is unsettled again.

[Hair bear bunch]

If that is the case, it is only for form time as they don't all go to the same lessons as one form. So lessons are not in the big class.....

[Azure]

What size are subject classes, out of interest?

[womanofkent]

I know HairCare you have a son there but we were told forms are how they are taught as they are based on which extra language they take. They do not stream for subjects and then only maths from year 8, so if they increase the form size then this is the subject size too. We were told 30 Azure when we looked round.

[twinkles]

I had heard that they were definitely taking an extra class this year.

[T12ACY]

I think what is more interesting is that with no obvious sign of expansion, although to be fair there has been some internal alterations, a school which consistently and successfully defended over a number of years not to have space for more than their PAN can suddenly (when free to do so) magic up a whole 30 spaces.

It all comes down to money......

I'd be less worried about an extra 30 students in the school than expected for September and be thinking long term when they have 150 more in the school (30 each year over 5 years for every year 7 intake) when my DS was finally in year 11 unless they have clear plans for significant expansion of the buildings to accommodate these numbers. That I would be looking in to if I were thinking of September 2014 entry