Matt Harmer and I met a small group of very angry Year 6 parents this week - whose children had not been offered a place at any of the schools they had put on their forms. They either had been offered Hounslow Manor or none at all.
As we have no mixed secondary school in Brentford, most people apply for Elthorne Park or Chiswick. Green is also popular for some families. However, unless families already have a child in one of those schools, no-one from Brentford is being offered a place. I am not sure what the situation is for Isleworth & Syon - would welcome an update.
The reason we are in this situation is that there are more children than ever in the system, our local schools are very popular, and there has not been sufficient expansion of places to keep up. The applications system is based on distance from the school (after siblings have been offered a place) and people who live at any distance from any mixed secondary school havn't got a hope of being given an offer.
Over the last year or two I have met with the Director of Children's Services twice on this issue.
With the email in-box bulging on the issues, and meeting several parents too, on Friday I wrote to the Director asking; a) what progress there is on the idea of getting a new school for Brentford, and
b) whether any of the local schools could have a "bulge" class for September. I will let you know the response.
Some parents have asked if Brentford School for Girls could become a mixed school.. We would be interested in views on that. It is a popular school, but a significant proportion of the students come from some distance, and from other boroughs. It is felt that if it was mixed it might serve local residents better.
Views welcome!
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