Are Rickmansworth primary pupils being disadvantaged when transferring to secondary schools?
(Notes taken at a public meeting in St Peter's School, Mill End on 12th July 2004)

Parents of Primary School children in the Rickmansworth area feel disadvantaged and angry by the annual transfer process because many of their children do not get a school of their choice when transferring to Secondary Schools. The process has been the source of dissatisfaction for a number of years. This year, parents expressed their dissatisfaction and concerns quite volubly at a public meeting held in St Peter's School, Mill End, and demonstrated their strength of feelings to County Councillor Robert Gordon. Councillor Gordon is the Cabinet Member on the County Council responsible for Education. The meeting was organised by Mr Tim Prizeman, whose daughters attend St Peter's School. Also present at the meeting were County Councillor Barbara Lamb, District Councillor Ann Shaw, Leader of Three Rivers District Council, 9 other Councillors, 10 Teachers, 20 School Governors, including Dr Anderson, Chair of the Governing Body at Rickmansworth School, and over 200 parents representing 11 Primary Schools.
Of particular concern this year, was the fact that many parents, who applied for Westfield School as one of their preferences, were not offered places at the school. These parents believed that Westfield School was a "priority" school for Rickmansworth pupils. Parental disappointment was further exacerbated because some pupils were allocated a place at Francis Combe School in Garston. This school is even more remote from the Rickmansworth area than is Westfield School and there is a perception among parents that Francis Combe School does not have a good reputation. Pupils who have to take up places at Francis Combe School from Maple Cross, Mill End, Sarratt and Chorleywood, will spend up to three hours each day travelling between home and school. Inevitably, this will result in some pupils not being able to attend after school activities, seen as a major disadvantage by many parents.
In making the opening address, Councillor Gordon admitted that the transfer process was far from satisfactory. He sympathised with parents who were not satisfied by the process, but was able to announce that 18 pupils who originally did not get places at Westfield School had since been granted places retrospectively. This announcement was well received by parents. Councillor Gordon then spoke about the problems facing the County Council when addressing the issue of secondary transfer. The first was that the demand for places was not matched by supply, particularly secondary places in the Rickmansworth area. Parents reminded him that the shortfall in secondary places was due to the LEA closing down four Secondary Schools in recent years, inspite of the fact that there were plans in existence to build more houses locally when the decision to close schools was taken. The second reason was concerned with demographic trends, in that the birth rate nationally is in decline. Over the next ten years the trend indicates that the secondary transfer problem may disappear. Councillor Gordon stated that 445 pupils were involved in the secondary transfer process this year, of which 46 pupils did not get a school of their choice. In 2005, the figure falls to 430, in 2006 to 402, but in 2007 the figure rises again to 429. These figures are based on the number of pupils currently in primary education. Thirdly, the County Council is only able to intervene in policy issues in the two Community Schools that are in the Rickmansworth catchment area. These are Westfield School and Francis Combe School. The other secondary schools are Independent Schools, either Church Schools or Foundation Schools. These schools are able to set their own admission criteria and rules, regardless of County Council policy. This is the reason why pupils from across the County boundary who can meet the admissions criteria, are able to attend St Clement Danes School and St Joan of Arc School, to the detriment of local pupils. Education policy is applied nationally by the Government, so individual LEA's cannot create artificial boundaries, or change the admission rules at Independent Schools, to solve a local problem. Each Independent school's Governing Body decides the admission rules in Church and Foundation schools. Admission rules are promulgated, or amended, some 18 months before the secondary transfer process is initiated. Thus there is a time factor to be taken into account before new admission rules can be implemented. In answering questions on the admission rules, Councillor Gordon quoted the experience of the LEA in Greenwich which tried to change the admission rules in a particular school against the wishes of the Governing Body. On appeal, the Government sided with the Governing Body. It was because of the Greenwich ruling that the County Council cannot direct Church and Foundation schools to increase their pupil intake. Changes can only be brought about by negotiation and agreement with Governing Bodies. This prompted a further question on the decision taken by Buckinghamshire County Council to debar pupils from Hertfordshire attending Buckinghamshire schools. Councillor Gordon admitted that was the case, but claimed that there were other issues of greater significance than the admissions rules, which allowed Buckinghamshire County Council's decision to stand. He declined to disclose those reasons because of the limited time available to discuss other relevant issues.
Councillor Gordon was able to provide some reassurance to parents. He announced that some parents had opted to send their children to John Penrose School in Harefield, because that school is closer than is Francis Combe School for Rickmansworth pupils. However, because Harefield is in Middlesex, it becomes necessary for Hertfordshire County Council to fund Hertfordshire pupils at Middlesex Schools. Councillor Gordon was able to confirm that Hertfordshire County Council will provide the necessary funding to ease this year's problems. He then addressed the question of expanding the supply of secondary places in Hertfordshire. He emphasised that expansion is expensive and does take time to complete, but might not be cost effective with the decline in the birth rate. He drew attention to the fact that Hertfordshire County Council had funded a development programme at Westfield School in recent times and extra places had been provided at Rickmansworth School. In reply to a question he agreed there is space to develop Francis Combe School and, if this is done, it should lead to an improvement in the school's reputation. This should also make the school more attractive to pupils in its immediate catchment area while easing the pressure on the Independent Schools. He then repeated his earlier statement that even though the County may want to provide more places at Clement Danes School, where there is scope to do so, that can only be done if acceptable to the Governing Body. He then announced that he was negotiating with Clement Danes School Governing Body to accept an additional 30 pupils per year, for which the county would provide a £4 million grant to bring about the expansion. He would not predict the outcome of his negotiation.
The meeting did overrun its allotted time and Mr Prizeman had to bring it to a close. Before doing so he announced that the campaign to bring about a satisfactory resolution to the problems of Secondary Transfer would continue. He encouraged those present to sign two petitions. The first called upon the County Council to act in conjunction with Westfield, Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes and St Joan of Arc Schools' Governing Bodies to ensure there are sufficient places for the children of Rickmansworth and surrounding local areas who wish to attend those schools. The second petition was directed at the Governing Bodies of the four schools, inviting them to change both their admissions policy to one that is more fair to local children and to work with the Council to provide additional places.
FOOTNOTE: Mr Prizeman would like to hear from people who would be willing to support the campaign. He can be contacted via e-mail at timp@kelsopr.com or by telephoning 01923 896763.

St Clement Danes School Admission Arrangements
On 12th November 2004, the Schools' Admission Adjudicator approved a variation to the admission arrangements determined by St Clement Danes School. The Adjudicator's findings are summarised below.
1. The referral: St Clement Danes School, a voluntary aided co-educational school and its own admission authority, referred a variation to the Adjudicator about the admission arrangements for September 2005. The school wishes to increase the admission number from 178 to 208 because of a major change in circumstance.
2. Jurisdiction: The referral was made to me in accordance with section 89(5) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 ("the Act") which states that "where an admission authority (a) have (sic), in accordance with subsection (4) determined the admission arrangements which are to apply for a particular school year, but (b) at any time before the end of that year consider the arrangements should be varied in view of a major change of circumstances occurring since they were so determined, the authority shall refer the proposed variations to the adjudicator and shall (in every case) notify the appropriate bodies of the proposed variations".
3. The school has been seeking to change its admission number for sometime as a result of pressures on school places in South West Hertfordshire. At the time the admission arrangements were originally determined, an agreed strategy had not been worked out with Hertfordshire County Council ("the LEA") and interested parties. That is now resolved - including building proposals - and this request follows from that. Since the proposed variation to the admission arrangements is due to this change in circumstance I am satisfied that the proposed variation is within my jurisdiction.
4. Procedure: In coming to my conclusions, I have had regard to the Act and Regulations made thereunder, the Code of Practice on School Admissions ("the Code"), Part III of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Part III of the Race Relations Act 1976, Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and all the evidence presented so far as it is relevant to the variation.
5. The school is successful and popular but there is a growing pressure for places for young people from the local area. Over the last seven years the school has been oversubscribed by almost 600 applicants for the 178 places. As a result, the independent appeals panel has frequently had to consider a very large number of annual appeals, averaging 54 over the past five years, and many students living locally, who have been unsuccessful, have had to travel considerable distances - 9-10 miles - to alternative schools.
6. The LEA accepts that there is a problem and is supportive of the request.
7. In July 2004 the school was successful in being allocated a £4m capital programme by the LEA to meet the local demand for more places. These capital spending proposals were, however, not finally agreed until after the formal round of consultation on the 2005 admissions arrangements.
8. The school and LEA had planned to increase numbers in 2006, but it now seems that the pressure for places may be even greater then. It seems prudent to act in 2005.
9. The need is for local places and the school has accepted that the increase in numbers should come from the locality. It has agreed to prioritise on distance within the "WD3" postcode, the school's traditional catchment area. This postcode includes homes in both Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
10. The proposal is supported by the LEA and neighbouring authorities and does not seem to be controversial.
11. Conclusion: I accept that there is a need to increase places at the school for local students. I also accept that the school was not able to foresee the current circumstances at the time the 2005 admission arrangements were made: it could not know that the appropriate capital allocation would be forthcoming. The proposal seems to have widespread support.
12. However, I notice that the school was also the subject to other recent determinations and that not everything previous adjudicators have commented on has been acted upon. In particular, the school admission arrangements continue to give priority in their oversubscription criteria to children of employees. They also fail to give top priority to looked after children, despite the clear advice in the Code of Practice. I would strongly urge the governors to re-consider their arrangements in the light of the adjudicator's comments and the Code.
13. Determination: In accordance with section 89(6) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, I approve the variation to the admission arrangements determined by St Clement Danes School. I determine that for admissions in September 2005 the admission number for the school should be 208.
Dated: 12 November 2004.
Schools Adjudicator: Dr Alan Billings.

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