The Romsey Advertiser 6 April 07

Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 6th Apr 2007

I have received a clutch of letters from parents who are unhappy because their children have not been able to secure a place in the school of their choice. I have to say at this point that this is a problem alien to me personally because when I moved to the area we were fortunate enough to live in the catchment area for two very good schools.

The parents are understandably unhappy because, despite living just out the catchment area, their children attended the appropriate feeder schools an , judging by previous years, should have easily secured a place at the school of choice.

It wouldn't be quite so bad but the children were not able to gain a place at the second or third choice of school either. This was because the second and third choice schools were also popular schools and had plenty of pupils giving them their first preference.

This means that the unfortunate children were allocated a school which they had not chosen and which had a relatively poor academic record and the parents are left asking, "what went wrong?"

One theory, which I have yet to substantiate, is that some parents are buying flats in school catchment areas in order to jump the queue. This raises all sorts of questions about second homes and fairness but that is an argument for another day.

Many parents have queried how their failure to gain a place at the first three schools of choice equates with the Government's so called "Choice" agenda.

Ultimately, we should be aiming for all schools to achieve a high standard so that parents and pupils are not unhappy with their second, third or fourth choice. That said, there is a move towards specialisation within schools and some pupils will want to choose a school which specialises in their area of excellence.

I have never completely understood why a school's pupil numbers are so tightly controlled. In some cases a school cannot physically grow but others could plan an expansion over time if they felt that they could sustain the increased demand. This might even force the less popular schools to concentrate on how they can improve their standards. The Government have been too timid in this respect. But let me end on a word of warning - a school should not be judged by GCSE results alone and it is sometimes enlightening to look at the new "added value" ratings. The only trouble is that you need a lesson in order to understand them!

Published wit the kind permission of Romsey Advertiser