by skeraf » Thu Jun 19, 2014 8:54 pm
I don't post very frequently on this site, but having read the way in which this thread is going feel I have to pitch in.
I really do understand the anxiety and frustration of so many parents who either have tried and failed to get their child into a good state primary school BTC and in the Nightingale Triangle or are worried about the prospect of doing so in the future. It does appear that there just aren't enough state primary places in the area to accommodate the local demand. I do understand why people, who want the very best for their children, will look at avenues to create new free schools - as is being encouraged by the current government.
But, in relation to the recent 'possible school sites' identified by the last few posters, perhaps I might inject a dose of realism before anyone gets too carried away?
1. The Church of the Latter Day Saints, sited on the junction of Nightingale Lane and Ravenslea Road, is just that - a Church. As I understand it, the building also accommodates missionaries and visiting students to the UK. The Mormon Church is incredibly wealthy and is unlikely to give up its Church or surrounding land to build a new state primary. It certainly does not need the money from a sale. Although I would happily stand corrected on this point, I also do not know of any instance when similar land has been compulsorily requisitioned to create a free school. I suspect, in any event, this would be hugely controversial where an actively used Church is involved.
2. There is a site for sale near Clapham South Tube Station - identified by another poster here - and, on paper, this looks like a potential school site. Indeed there may be groups of parents or investors right now looking to create a free school or a new private school there. But, and this is what worries me a little bit about the whole free school process...it is only a stone's throw away from Alderbrook Primary School, a state school which has traditionally had spare places available particularly in KS2. It would be a terrible shame if valuable education resources were devoted to a new free school seconds away from an existing, ever-improving primary (with some capacity) which would no doubt suffer as a result.
So, this is a long winded way of wishing the existing posters on this thread well in their search for great primary school places for their children and potential new school sites, but also suggesting that - as far as free school sites are concerned - they cast their net a little wider.
Back off to watch the football now...
I don't post very frequently on this site, but having read the way in which this thread is going feel I have to pitch in.
I really do understand the anxiety and frustration of so many parents who either have tried and failed to get their child into a good state primary school BTC and in the Nightingale Triangle or are worried about the prospect of doing so in the future. It does appear that there just aren't enough state primary places in the area to accommodate the local demand. I do understand why people, who want the very best for their children, will look at avenues to create new free schools - as is being encouraged by the current government.
But, in relation to the recent 'possible school sites' identified by the last few posters, perhaps I might inject a dose of realism before anyone gets too carried away?
1. The Church of the Latter Day Saints, sited on the junction of Nightingale Lane and Ravenslea Road, is just that - a Church. As I understand it, the building also accommodates missionaries and visiting students to the UK. The Mormon Church is incredibly wealthy and is unlikely to give up its Church or surrounding land to build a new state primary. It certainly does not need the money from a sale. Although I would happily stand corrected on this point, I also do not know of any instance when similar land has been compulsorily requisitioned to create a free school. I suspect, in any event, this would be hugely controversial where an actively used Church is involved.
2. There is a site for sale near Clapham South Tube Station - identified by another poster here - and, on paper, this looks like a potential school site. Indeed there may be groups of parents or investors right now looking to create a free school or a new private school there. But, and this is what worries me a little bit about the whole free school process...it is only a stone's throw away from Alderbrook Primary School, a state school which has traditionally had spare places available particularly in KS2. It would be a terrible shame if valuable education resources were devoted to a new free school seconds away from an existing, ever-improving primary (with some capacity) which would no doubt suffer as a result.
So, this is a long winded way of wishing the existing posters on this thread well in their search for great primary school places for their children and potential new school sites, but also suggesting that - as far as free school sites are concerned - they cast their net a little wider.
Back off to watch the football now...
