Plans to shut Hurlingham and Chelsea school attacked
Opposition is growing to Hammersmith and Fulham's plans to close Hurlingham and Chelsea School with a local MP accusing the Council of wanting to sell the site after closure without opening another school to replace it.
The Council have recently issued a detailed consultation paper in which they explain their rationale for closure. The school has become severely under subscribed with only 78 parents selecting it as their first choice in September this year. The school has fewer than 80 students in year 7 and a total of 461 spare places. The council would is seeking to close the school by July 2008.
Only 34 per cent of students at Hurlingham & Chelsea achieved five or more GCSE passes at grades A* - C this summer – well below the borough and national averages. The percentage of students at the school gaining five good GCSEs including English and maths was only 23 per cent - the lowest in the borough.
They plan to opening a new mixed-sex secondary school in the borough and using money that is coming from the government’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme next year. This would significantly expand the number of sixth form place available in the borough.
Cllr Antony Lillis, cabinet member for community and children’s services, said, “We are committed to bringing about dramatic improvements in our secondary schools and we will not tolerate underperformance. The Building Schools for the Future money gives us a one-off opportunity to transform secondary education and the life chances of local students. This means major investment in successful schools to allow them to expand and thrive. ”
However, Andy Slaughter, the MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush has reacted angrily to the proposal accusing the Council of failing to notify him about the plans. He said, "The closure of Hurlingham and Chelsea would have a profound effect on secondary schools in my constituency, notably Phoenix High and Burlington Danes. Despite this, and the fact that under DfES guidance I am a statutory consultee, I have received no communication from LBHF on this matter. This is indicative of the hasty and unprofessional way this proposal is being taken forward. For the avoidance of doubt, I am strongly opposed in principle to the proposed closure, but I am also concerned that the process being followed by LBHF does not accord with due process and is unfair and biased."
He expressed doubt that the new school promised by the Council would ever be built, particularly as a site had yet to be identified and said that closure should not be considered until proper progress had been made on this.
He also suggested that the Council had their eyes on raising funds by selling the existing site of the school which has a massive potential value. He said, "The received view locally is that the real reason for closure of Hurlingham and Chelsea is to obtain a valuable site for disposal. Thus far LBHF has not answered questions relating to either the value of the site or their plans for it. This confirms the suspicion, borne out by all material facts, that the proposed closure is not for any educational reason."
Supporters of the school point to the fact that, in the last OFSTED report, the school was taken out of 'special measures' and praised for its progress. Those arguing against closure believe that the current under-subscription of the school is influenced by it being put into special measures and that it will reverse once appreciation of the successful turnaround grows. Arguments that a new Church of England secondary school planned for Lots Road by Kensington and Chelsea Council will lead to further spare places at the school are dismissed as it is claimed that the justification for opening the school was the shortage of places for children in that borough. Therefore it would be unlikely that many local children would be able to get places.
The National Union of Teachers is backing the retention of the school. Most of the staff are members of the union. You can send messages of support to the campaign to save the school to savehurlinghamschool@hotmail.co.uk
If the council agrees to proceed, a statutory notice inviting further responses will be published in a local paper and parents with children at the school will also be informed immediately afterwards. The formal consultation period will be: 28 November 2006 to 31 January 2007.
Pupils currently in years 10 and 11 would be able to complete their GCSEs as expected. Those currently in years 7, 8, and 9 would have to transfer to other schools and the Council say they would provide assistance to ensure that happens with the minimum disruption to their education. If approved there would be no year 7 intake in September 2007 and the school would close in July 2008 after the current year 10 complete their GCSEs.
November 6, 2006
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