The controversy over South Farnham Primary School's proposed admissions for 2013 seems to have overshadowed another admissions' consultation that's just as important: Weydon School (11-16-year-olds) is consulting on their own admissions for 2013. The consultation closes on 20 Feb 2012 and is on Weydon's web-site.
The major change as far as I can see is a significant extension of siblings' priority. Currently, the older child would have to be actually at the school at the date of arrival of the younger sibling to be given priority. That will change to the older sibling being able to have left up to two years beforehand, surely leading to more younger siblings having priority over other children living nearer.
As per South Farnham, I have asked the Local Education Authority to 'run the numbers' and will definitely comment before the deadline although, as merely a locally-elected representative at the Local Education Authority, I (and Surrey County Council) have no formal part to play because Weydon School is an academy.
I hope that many local parents will make their views known so that the school will get it right.
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Lead story from the Farnham Herald of Friday 10th February 2012
Weydon announces expansion
By Daniel Gee
WEYDON School has announced a multi-million pound expansion to combat the growing demand for secondary school places in Farnham.
Speaking to The Herald on Monday, headteacher John Winter said his school is to be given between £8 and £11 million by the Local Education Authority (LEA) to expand its yearly intake by 22 per cent.
Potentially it means that from September 2015, Weydon will welcome 308 new pupils through its gates each year compared to the current 252, and by 2020 it will have an additional 280 pupils studying across all year groups.
The expansion will require significant structural changes, including some construction work. But the headteacher said Weydon will retain the same values that have made it one of the top performing secondary schools in the UK.
Farnham is currently experiencing a 'bulge' in demand for places at primary school level, and the first of these bulge years is expected to reach secondary level in 2014. As a result, current projections say the town is currently 122 secondary school places short for September 2015 admissions.
Mr Winter said: "Our current structure serves us outstandingly well, but in order for us to take on 56 more pupils each year, we're going to have to be very skilful about how we restructure. We want to create a big school with a small feel and maintain that warm, comfortable feeling where every child is still championed and doesn't get lost in the system. This is what has made Weydon so successful and we have to ensure we continue to do that."
Recognised as 'outstanding' by Ofsted and named the third best state secondary school in the UK by The Sunday Times' performance tables last December, Weydon is taking a considerable risk by changing its winning formula. However, the chairman of the school's board of governors, Peter Brinsden, believes it is a propensity to change that has made Weydon so successful in recent years.
He said: "I've been associated with this school for quite a while as both a governor and a parent, and one of the things that's always impressed me is that the school has never sat on its laurels. The school has made some major improvements over the last few years, but the worst crime now would be to say we've got a winning formula and stop changing that formula from year to year.
"Weydon is an outstanding school but what we have to do is give the school an opportunity to think very seriously about restructuring and not just stick with more of the same.
"It's exciting for the local community, particularly with all the focus on admissions, as it demonstrates that there is a plan after all. We can only talk about our little part of it, but the LEA have got a substantial plan for the whole area"
Mr Winter continued: "The beauty of this is, at a time when times are tough financially for the area, some of the much-needed specialist facilities will be forthcoming, which is very exciting. But it's still early days and clearly we are going to have to go out to our stakeholders for a proper consultation about the types of ways in which we can do it.
"We've got some ideas such as having two schools within a school and copying the Cambridge University campus model with different colleges and so on. But this is the beginnings of a process and we've got to go out and consult widely with people."
Although the school cannot begin its consultation process until it makes sure of its exact financial position, Mr Winter says open meetings with the community will begin as soon as possible.
"We won't be able to put forward a plan of this nature unless we fully embrace everyone's opinions first" said the headteacher.
[cont ...]
[... cont]
Urgent need to increase seconday [sic] school places
"We are talking about a substantial amount of tax-payers' money and if we want to make change work, we've got to make sure that everybody is party to what we're trying to do and help people understand and shape our vision."
Surrey councillor for Farnham South, David Munro, welcomed Weydon's announcement: "I am very pleased to see more investment in Farnham's schools. Weydon is a terrific school and the more children who can be a part of it the better. If current projections run true, then expansions such as this should mean the bulge problem is solvable. However, we can't offer a hint of complacency and must continue to work together to find a solution."
A Surrey County Council spokesman said: "We are committed to the expansion of Weydon School, which is necessary in response to the increase in the number of local primary school pupils, particularly in south Farnham. We cannot say exactly how much funding we will be allocating to this until the architecture and programming have been done, but it will be significant.
"Our projections suggest the need for additional places will become urgent in 2015, and therefore would hope that the scheme can be completed by then. In the Farnham area we will need an additional form by 2015 and by 2016 we will need both additional permanent provision and some temporary increase to manage what appears to be a bulge year.
"We are preparing for this through the Weydon School expansion and, in due course, Farnham Heath End School. Funding for both expansions is included in the proposed capital programme 2012-17."
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