Catchment - is there really a choice?
| 10:46 UK
time, Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Choosing a secondary school for your child is a big decision and my heart went out to the parents in The Big School Lottery programme (Tues 7th September 2010), who all clearly wanted the best for their children. But how can a system that supposedly favours the wealthy really be fair? It is clear that parents who lived in the affluent areas of Birmingham got the choice of the best schools and they also had the income and time to tutor their kids to pass the 11+ plus. As one parent put it:Ìý "We have the ultimate choice - the best grammar schools or an independent school".
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The Big School Lottery programme offers an insight into one of the most important and stressful decisions a family can make - which secondary school to send their child to.
I must put in the caveat that I most definitely rank among the middle classes and have chosen a house that is in a good catchmentÌýarea for a secondary school. And being in the catchment area for a good state school would certainly remain at the top of my list when house hunting. I feel extremely fortunate to be in that position and who wouldn't do the same for their children if they could?
But I am also interested in other systems for selecting school places that are fairer and read with interest about the Brighton and Hove lottery system for school places when it was announced two years ago. However, I was disappointed to learn last week that the experiment had not worked. According to the report, it did not help more disadvantaged students; it wasn't really a lottery system and was still predominately based on catchment areas with only spare places being put in a lottery system for students.Ìý
I came from a family that firmly believed in choosing a school that suited each child, which meant that I went to grammar school, my sister to a comprehensive and my youngest sister to an independent school. My sisters were both moved from schools my parents tried and found weren't suitable for them. Sadly that option isn't open to everyone.
Proponents of grammar schools would say that those who are poor but academically gifted would get a chance to go to a good school but it was clear from the programme that where you live can seriously limit your choice and potentially your child's future.
When I look at my eldest I wonder if we should we tutor her to try and get in to a grammar school. She is bright but loves dancing, drawing and many other activities. If we stretched her academically to get in to such a school, would she struggle once she got there? Could this damage her self-esteem? Would it not be better to send her to the local comprehensive where she can excel in subjects like dance but also be streamed in subjects she finds challenging. Should she go to the all girls comprehensive in our catchment? Or the mixed co-ed school, to be more balanced socially?
These sorts of questions are being asked by parents across the country but if education is only determined really by where you live, how much money you earn or how bright you are - what are the choices left for all the other children who don't have these privileges?
Education is changing and the government announced 16 free schools on Monday, the question remains how will the places in these new schools be allocated?
According to a recent many top comprehensives are even more selective than grammar schools, also favouring the middle classes. It cites a report by the charity the Ìýthat claims the only fair way to select children for new schools is by random ballots to stop them being dominated by children from middle class families.
But also suggests it could be in "conjunction with other criteria, for example ability, faith or location". Isn't this what they tried to do Brighton and Hove?
Perhaps the only true egalitarian thing to do is to try and improve all our existing schools, rather than diverting time, money and attention away from the education system we already have.
Claire Winter is a member of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Parent Panel. Ìý
The Big School Lottery continues on Wednesday,Ìý8 September at 9pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two.
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Comment number 1.
At 8th Sep 2010, mariabevans wrote:The choice of school is a lottery no matter what system the local authority employ, only complicated by a two tier system of state education and the choice of independent schools for a few. The system tested in Brighton and Hove of allocating places 'out of a hat' implied that the way to improve poor schools was to give them more able students. In fact, Government policy should focus on ensuring that the lowest achieving schools can afford the very best teachers, ensuring that every child achieves it's potential. I am lucky that my children are at excellent state schools and my heart bleeds for families who face impossible decisions.
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Comment number 2.
At 8th Sep 2010, HWaddington wrote:I am currently looking into where I want my child to start his education and finding it a minefield! State schools are in turmoil with change of government and uncertanty with funding etc; Independant schools are struggling in the current economic climate which inevitably means 'benefits' they once offered are going to be cutback and watered down (class size, curriculum breadth, resources...) so not sure you'd be getting any different experience for you child than a state school but the bank account would definately feel the choice.
And don't get me started on the condemnation by other parents -I'm either not doing the best for my child; or playing into a classist/elitist system that will see my child out of touch with reality and under employed in 16 years time... #sigh
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Comment number 3.
At 9th Sep 2010, CWinter wrote:It's not an easy one to work out, the independent sector is not a choice for many (only around 7.2% of children) and the best schools also select the brightest candidates.
I think perhaps when parents are relying on the state system for their child's education that saying we have a 'choice' is extremely misleading. We can select schools and it is only if our child fits the school's admission criteria that they are 'chosen'.
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Comment number 4.
At 10th Sep 2010, Mark Payge wrote:Not only is it a post-code lottery. If you don't have financial resources the private sector, where you can exercise most choice, is not an option. As a grandparent now, I look backward with some dismay at the schools we put our three girls through. We tried them all: grammar and secondary modern (in Bucks where the selective 12+ exam still reigns), mixed comprehensive and all girls comprehensive. And finally, private when the girls comprehensive seemed to be sadly lacking in bringing our the qualities in our daughter that emerged in the private regime. I now look forward with some trepidation at the future for the education of our three young granddaughters.
It would be churlish to complain without mention that there were many teachers who were doing a grand job at the schools my daughters went to and they all went on to get good university degrees and have successful careers.
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