Anyone else get harangued outside Northcote Library today?! Post Reply

[equality]

doleofficedad,

I give up, there is no point in posting on this thread to be met with the sort of comments you make, misquotes, misrepresentation etc. I agree with union member, you are simply being derogatory and such I find you totally lacking in any credibility. I also agree with union member about union meetings being a haven of civility compared to some comments on this site! I have never suggested anyone punch anyone else, the point I made was that the way you address people on this site beggars belief and surely you don't speak like this back in your own day to day world. Your continual comments about dumbing things down is simply offensive. If you can't put forward your points in a civilised, albeit animated, manner, why bother at all. I don't think it helps your case or those in favour of the school. If I were in favour of the school, I would be groaning with embarrassment at the tenor of your posts. No doubt you will have another offensive retort and you are free to do that but I am not going to waste any more energy on answering you.

[doleofficedad]

equality - as I said before, you people like to dish it out but you cant take a dose of your own medicine. Its noticeable that this is the first post you have made since I challenged you on your complete contradiction about kids from out of borough versus those attending primary schools closer to CG and BPS. Which you have not addressed. I have no idea why you even wasted energy posting tonight - you are not addressing any points flagging your contradictions, you just whine and moan. Those are the tactics you have all resorted to when those of us who welcome the school have challenged your spin and presented facts and logic in favour of the school. If I were against the school, I would be groaning with embarrassment at the lack of substance of your posts. You shy away from answering the difficult questions.

[localunionmember]

Dole office dad

You raised two points.

The first relates to statements by Mr De Maria and my attitude to them. The reason I raised Mr Keller again is that he has now issued a written rebuke to Mr De Mario on the north/south catchment issue - Up to that point Mr Kellers rebuttal of Mr De Maria statement was verbal. I considered that readers should know of this development as it was both new and significant.

Regarding Mr De Maria interview on national BBC Radio 4 Today programme when he said that his estimate of cost of refurbishing Bolingbroke would be around £20m – he has not retracted this “on the record” statement so there is no reason not to use it unlike the “no longer operable” statement re Mr Keller and the north south axis. Yes of course we need to wait until we know the precise figure but using Mr De Marios estimate of £20m on the cost of refurbisment is both legitimate and entirely consistent.

The second relates to a distance based admission policy and how that would impact on Falconbrook kids.

My posts are about the different way Wix and Falconbrook kids are to be dealt with under the admission policy adopted by the self selecting group. Under this policy Falconbrook kids are excluded while Wix kids are included. No go and go for short.

The only grounds that I can see set out by anybody to exclude Falconbrook which is nearer than Wix to new site is that the same self selecting group has decided it is “naturally” part of Battersea Park catchment area. Without this “natural” reason there is no grounds to exclude them.

As far as I am aware this self selecting group has no mandate whatsoever to make such a decision on behalf of the parents and kids in Falconbrook in relation to a possible new school on their doorstep.

I also fail to understand what “natural” bar there is to these kids and their parents having the choice to walk less than a mile from their front doors to the new site where up £40m of public funds could be spent if this school get the go ahead or why their rights are less than the Wix parents and kids.

This decision to exclude the Falconbrook kids will continue to be contested however tiresome you feel it is.

[doleofficedad]

I dont understand why the kids from Falconbrook would not want to walk to their closest secondary school, which is Battersea Park? Those of you who oppose the new school keep telling us that Battersea Park is outstanding in every way, so why wouldnt local kids want to attend their closest school? Or are you saying that BPS is not good enough for the Falconbrook children and thats why you want them to go to the new school (which is an academy of course, so good to see a union member so keen to promote an academy) ? Wix is closer to the new Bolingbroke site than it is to Battersea Park. Local schools for local kids - isnt that the idea?

[localunionmember]

Have you seen this story on front page of todays Daily Mirror?

[yummydaddy]

no , havnt

don't tend to read one-sided sensationalist mass-market tabloids

[equality]

I have now. I think it sums it up very fairly.

[yummydaddy]

I’m sure it does,

After all The Daily Mirror is known around the world to be a beacon of objective, understated quality journalism

[schoolgatesmum]

I have just read the article. I'm very interested to know where the figures come from for average incomes for each school. Highview is quoted as having an average income of £60k and yet has free school meals (a figure used to assess social deprivation) for 41% of its intake. You have to be on a very low income to qualify for free school meals (less than £17k I think). There must be some very wealthy people at Highview to bring the average up to £60k. By my calculations, the other 59% would be on an average of £90k. localunionmember - any idea where the GMB get their figures from?

[equality]

It was an open letter signed by individuals, was it not? Not an article by a Mirror journalist. The content of the letter appears to fairly sum up the views and concerns of those not in favour of the school. Why don't the pro school people do the same and set out their arguments? That would get it more publicity and whomsoever thinks he is right should never be afraid of that but should embrace it.

[schoolgatesmum]

It's an article in the Daily Mirror - frontpage headline is "Class War - Bankers set up new ConDem school but ban poor pupils" (not sure quite how accurate that is!). But then the other headline is "Emmerdale. Viv's fury" so I don't think we should take it too seriously!

[localunionmember]

Regarding the household incomes quoted in the GMB press release the figures are for 36 specified areas in Wandsworth.

High View is in area 12- the map of that area and the roads in it are listed is on the GMB website newsroom section as the 3rd map.

The source shown for the figures are:
Income: Model-Based Estimates at MSOA Level, 2007/08- Source ONS - Super Output Area Middle Layer.

My understanding is that the office for national statistics (ONS) publish figures for average household incomes for all parts of England at an area level below the ward - hence the word "middle layer". I have no idea how they decide which streets are in which area.

The figures are for households - so households with two earners with good jobs will have high level of household incomes. They are average figures for the whole area.

As important is the relationship to the London average.

Area including Wix and Belville is highest in borough and is 185% of London average.

Wandsworth area 17 which includes area north of Chesnut Grove on either side of Nightingale Lane is second at 163%.

Seems about right to me.

[schoolgatesmum]

I've just looked through the list of roads listed under area 12 but I can't see the peabody estate anywhere. Do you know which road that is? A lot of the children at Highview are from that estate so it would be a bit remiss if it were missed off the list. Maybe that might explain the anomaly between the 41% free school meals and an average income of £60k?

Wix school is on the border with Lambeth (the next road to the east it becomes Lambeth). I would imagine therefore that there are quite a few children from Lambeth. The roads listed are presumably just Wandsworth roads?

I also note that some roads are included in 2 areas (I only noticed this because one of them is mine!). I'm in area 5 and 9. Is that right?

I'm not sure how accurate all this information is.

And also I've just noticed that the area (area 7) for Falconbrook doesn't seem to include roads only a few away from it.

[equality]

I must have misread it, I thought it was the open letter. I admit it did seem a bit more sedate than I would have expected from the Mirror! How do I see the article, could not find an attachment? Mind you, the Mirror might like some of the posts on this thread

[equality]

Schoolgatesmum, have found the article and clearly is not the open letter silly me!

Just a thought about Highview, a school that is not oversubscribed, I guess if it is a feeder it might become another school of choice for BTC? I imagine the same would happen to Falconbrook if it were included. Would not the inclusion of Falconbrook be the answer to some of the problems. I think if more schools were allowed to eat at the table some of the arguments fall away. Of course, it does not answer the big question as to whether it should exist at all but would it not be an easier concept for people outside of Northcote to handle? Can someone tell me why it is restricted to only 4? Is it because any more than that reduces the percentage of places available to BV and HW, making it harder for them all to get in?

I have to repeat, I am in the Northcote catchment, it is not green cheese!