Secondary schools deserted by parents
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- Category: Education News
More than 50 poorly performing secondary schools in England are nearly half empty after being deserted by parents, according to a new analysis that reveals the intense competition to secure children the best state education.
More than 50 poorly performing secondary schools in England are nearly half empty after being deserted by parents, according to a new analysis that reveals the intense competition to secure children the best state education.
Official figures show there are over 300,000 surplus places at schools in England, and half of these are at the worst-performing 25% of schools.
The Guardian has learned that free schools will be encouraged to open up in buildings currently occupied by poorly performing schools with falling rolls.
Partnerships for Schools, a government-funded quango, will be asked to look at options for siting schools in the same building. This is common in the US, where charter schools – the inspiration for free schools – often share space with state schools.
Neil O'Brien, director of Policy Exchange, argued that the analysis strengthened the case for competition between schools.
He said: "Ideally, you want new, better schools to open in the areas currently served by poor schools to compete with them. Encouraging co-location of new schools on the site of under-subscribed, poorly performing schools might be another way to accelerate this process."
However, locating competing schools in the same building may prompt concern from headteachers and parents about the risk of fights between rival gangs of children.
The analysis shows that the top quarter of state schools in England have just 7.1% of the surplus places. That falls to 2.7% of surplus places in the top 10% of schools.
There are 53 secondary schools running more than half empty. The 10 schools with the fewest pupils have closed or are earmarked for closure. These include the Oak Farm community school in Hampshire, which has 130 pupils in a school with capacity for nearly 700. At St Peter's College in Chelmsford, Essex, only 8% of pupils got five good GCSEs including English and maths in 2009, the lowest proportion in England. The school is due to close this year.
Read more at the Guardian.
