Mar 28, 2008
Academy admissions crisis: Lib Dems press to make details public
Liberal Democrats representing Whitley parents whose children have been overlooked for places at the Madjeski Academy have demanded to know what has happened to secondary school admissions in South Reading – and have made a Freedom of Information request to make public to which areas school places at the Academy have gone to.
Katesgrove Councillor and PPC for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps, has asked for information to be made public showing how far away from the new Academy its new admissions are coming from. Redlands Councillors Daisy Benson and Kirsten Bayes have joined Gareth in demanding an urgent meeting to address the problems, including transport issues, that stem from the admissions crisis.
Liberal Democrats are demanding to know why the Council failed to recognise the numbers of pupils from South Reading who were coming up to secondary age, and how they are to be transported to – in many cases – Prospect College in September.
Commenting, Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Reading East and councillor for Katesgrove, says:
“Academies have the right to select a proportion of their intake, for better or worse. It’s clear that children living in Whitley have not all got the places they wanted. Local residents have a right to know exactly what has gone on, and where those school places have gone to.
The decision of Reading’s Labour Council not to oppose the disgraceful closure of Ryeish Green has come back to haunt local parents. Unlike Reading’s Labour Council, I opposed that closure. There is an urgent need to revisit that decision.
There appears also to have been a lack of planning in this year’s admissions. The self-congratulatory press release issued by Council spin doctors is an insult to Whitley residents.”
Patrick Murray, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Reading West, says: “Secondary school admissions in Reading are in a mess, largely as a result of centralised Whitehall diktats that ride roughshod over the rights of local parents. It is time for the Council to show some leadership for once, and to take steps to ensure that the rights of our parents are put first. Otherwise the Academy’s gloss will rub off very quickly.”
