A REVIEW OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN THE GREATER BATH AREA

A DISCUSSION PAPER

The national picture

Changes to the way in which secondary education is delivered are part of the national education agenda. In recent years central Government have published “Transforming Secondary Education” (DfES 2003) and this was followed by “The Five Year Strategy for Children & Learners” (DfES 2004) which developed the themes for secondary education along with all other phases of education.

 

Both documents set out Government aspirations and set a framework for these changes.

 

Allied to these documents is the announcement of the “Building Schools for the Future” initiative. Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is a programme covering all secondary schools in England and offers the potential for the rebuilding or upgrading of all secondary schools over a fifteen year period from 2005.

 

These are the national drivers behind this document.

 

The local picture

Indications from Government are that the Greater Bath area has been placed in the final wave of the BSF Programme along with Keynsham / Chew Valley. The Norton Radstock area appears in the penultimate wave. The building of new / replacement / refurbished secondary schools in Bath & North East Somerset is unlikely to receive any Government funding until 2015.

 

Bath & North East Somerset as an authority produces very high standards in secondary schools and this, combined with the overall absence of high levels of economic deprivation, is the principal reason for the lengthy period prior to allocation of BSF funding.

 

However, all Authorities which are placed in the later stages of the BSF Programme, have been informed that funding will be provided for the refurbishment or rebuilding of one secondary school by 2011. Given the time such an exercise will take it can be expected that we will receive notification of our allocation during 2008. It is therefore necessary for us to put in place a vision and a strategy which ensures that this project achieves its aims but is “future-friendly” and fits in with our plans for secondary renewal.

 

Locally, the Council considers that, despite the eventual implementation of the BSF Programme in Bath & North East Somerset, a number of issues require examination in order to establish a suitable pattern of provision for the period leading up to the development of improved school buildings.

 

The Council has also been carrying out area reviews of primary education and believes that the time is right to move onto a consideration of our secondary school provision so that the effects of these primary reviews can be built into our thinking at secondary level.

 

 

Aims

 

The aims of this Review are:

 

• To promote high educational standards, improved attendance and improved standards of behaviour

 

Rationale

It is a statutory responsibility of the Council to promote high standards. Good attendance and behaviour are a prerequisite to achievement.

 

• To promote the effective use of resources (money, buildings, land and people)

 

Rationale

This aims to ensure that finite resources are focussed on learning and teaching.

 

• To seek to provide high quality facilities for young people, staff and communities

 

Rationale

This incorporates the extended school concept and aims to ensure that secondary school sites and buildings become the centre of services in each area regardless of whether users have school-aged children or not.

 

• To make the choice of a local school the natural and easy choice for parents / carers whilst recognising the wider area served by Church schools.

 

Rationale

This aims to increase the number of young people entering their first preference school, improves community cohesion and reduces travel by car

 

• To ensure that a school is within reasonable walking / cycling distance of home and /or reasonably accessible by public transport.

 

Rationale

This aims to ensure that the negative effects of travel to school are mitigated

 

 

Content and process

This paper sets out information and contains no proposals for change or recommendations for further action. It is intended to inform the debate. It does, however, include some initial views compiled by Officers which are intended to take the debate forward.  The Education, Youth, Culture & Leisure Overview & Scrutiny Panel (EYCL OSP) will play a leading role in this review exercise.

 

Sequence and Process

 

 

Initial Data Pack published 17/1/06

 

Initial Headteacher and Chairs Briefing 27/1/06 Ward Member Briefing 27/1/06

 

Updated Data Pack and Initial Views published w/c 30/1/06

 

Visit to Schools by O&S Panel w/c 27/2 and 6/3/06 3 days.  (Day 1 & 2 Bath West, Day 3 Bath East)

 

Contributor Session 20/3 (Bath West) Council Chamber, Guildhall 28/3 (Bath East) , Brunswick Room, Guildhall

 

Informal private O&S discussion w/c 18/4 (2 evening sessions or whole morning or afternoon)

 

Heads briefing of likely outcomes 24/4

 

O&S Panel Findings 5/6 5.30 pm Guildhall, Bath

 

A final report to the Council Executive will not be produced until all areas have been through a review process. The anticipated date for a report to the Executive is late 2006. No changes to the organisation of schools are anticipated for several years.

Background Information

Readers are asked to note that there are wide variations between the dates of OFSTED reports for each school and that the quotations from inspection reports (shown below in italics) may not necessarily reflect the position today.

 

Beechen Cliff

 

The context statement, taken from the most recent published OFSTED report (January 2004) states that:

 

“Beechen Cliff School is a foundation comprehensive school for boys aged 11-18, situated on the southern side of the City of Bath. Female students are admitted into the sixth form. Pupils and students are drawn from the city and surrounding area. The socio-economic background from which the pupils are drawn is above average. While a high proportion of pupils are from professional and educated families, there is a small proportion of pupils from needy and educationally less advantaged backgrounds. The number of pupils entering or leaving the school other than at the usual times is low. There are currently 996 pupils on roll, with 202 in the sixth form. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. Standards on entry are above average. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs is below average, with 47 pupils having identified needs, covering learning difficulties of many kinds and including social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, dyslexia and autism. Fifteen pupils have a Statement of Special Educational Needs. Pupils are almost all white British with a very small number who are from minority ethnic backgrounds. There are 11 pupils who speak English as an additional language. The school received an Investor in Student Careers award in 2003. The school is a Technology College and has Beacon Status.

 

In almost all subjects, standards of work seen during the inspection are above average at the end of Years 9, 11 and 13. Overall, pupils’ achievements are good in Years 7 to 11, although there is variation across subjects. Achievement is good in the sixth form.

 

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall.

 

Value for money is good.”

 

Further information

·        At September 2004, there were fewer than ten Bristol students on roll

·        At September 2004, there were fewer than twenty South Gloucestershire students on roll

·        The school is a specialist school in Technology

·        The school is a Foundation school. All land and buildings are owned by the Governing Body. The site is considerably larger than required for a school of this size. The buildings themselves are also larger than required but this is not excessive.

Culverhay

 

The context statement, taken from the most recent published OFSTED report (December 1999) states that:

 

“Culverhay school is situated on the south western fringe of Bath, and provides education for boys in the age range 11-18. There are three girls in the sixth form. Numbers on roll are gradually rising and the school roll now stands at 568 including 79 in the sixth form. The school draws its intake from local wards, especially Southdown and Twerton, and further afield; consequently the socio-economic circumstances of the pupils are very mixed. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above average for the country as a whole, and a sizeable minority come from rather disadvantaged

backgrounds with little or no previous success in achieving academic qualifications. However, these pupils are balanced by a further minority who are drawn from considerably more affluent backgrounds. Just over one per cent of pupils have English as an additional language.

 

The full range of attainment is represented in the intake each year. However, the overall profile of attainment is skewed strongly towards the weaker end of the spectrum, and each intake is consequently well below average compared with all schools nationally. The proportion of special educational needs pupils is above the national average, and the proportion having statements is more

than twice the national average.

 

Teaching is good overall and accounts for the good progress which pupils make as they move through the school. Culverhay School provides a very good standard of education for its pupils. Boys of all levels of attainment do far better at GCSE than might be expected from their results at the end of their primary school education.

 

The leadership is excellent and the school is very well managed. Governors fulfil their responsibilities well.

 

The school now gives good value for money”

 

Further information

·        At September 2004, there were fewer than ten Bristol students on roll. No other students from outside Bath & North East Somerset were on roll.

·        The school is a specialist school in Maths & Computing

·        The school has 24% of its capacity unfilled. The site is twice the size required for a school of this size although some of this excess area is located off site. An arrangement with Bath Spa University has led to the University taking control of some surplus accommodation. This has brought benefits to both school and University and removed surplus capacity from school use.

·        The presence of a Sports Centre, GP practice and a private day nursery on the site makes this location ideal for the creation of a school offering extended services.

 

Hayesfield

The context statement, taken from the most recent published OFSTED report (September 2000) states that:

 

“This is a girls’ 11-19 secondary school with technology college status. There are 1015 pupils with 15 boys in the Sixth Form. The school is on a split site in Bath. The Sixth Form house is across the road from the upper school and the playing fields are two miles from the school. The distance between the upper and the lower school is half a mile. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is 13.2% which is broadly in line with the national average. Hayesfield has 27 pupils (2.7%) who are from the minority ethnic groups and amongst whom there are speakers of languages other than English

including Bengali, Urdu, Cantonese, Malaysian and Thai. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs is 17.2% which is broadly in line with the national average. The attainment of pupils joining Year 7 is close to the national average according to the end of Key Stage 2 test results and the

Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) scores. There are pupils from the full ability range.

 

The school is effective in enhancing its pupils’ learning. The 1999 Key Stage 3 tests, GCSE and GCE advanced level results are mostly above the national averages and occasionally in line with them. All three phase results in 2000 showed an improvement on the previous year. Teaching was good overall

with 97% of lessons seen during the inspection being sound or better. Leadership is very good. The school’s strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.

 

The school provides very good value for money.”

 

Further information

·        At September 2004, there were 76 Bristol students on roll

·        At September 2004, there were 10 South Gloucestershire students on roll.

·        The school is a specialist school in Technology

·        The school is a Foundation school having changed category in 2002. The buildings and land are owned by the Governing Body

Oldfield

 

The context statement, taken from the most recent published OFSTED report (March 2003) states that:

 

“Oldfield School is a comprehensive school for girls aged 11 to 16, with a mixed sixth form. The school is of average size, with 924 pupils, including 118 in the sixth form. Most pupils are white. A small proportion have minority ethnic backgrounds. A very small number have English as an additional language but do not require extra help with English. Pupils have a

wide range of backgrounds, but overall their social and economic circumstances are favourable. Half of the pupils in the main school are there as a result of their parents’ choice, and these pupils often have a long journey to school. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs is below average; most have difficulties with literacy. Overall, the standards reached by pupils joining the school are above average.

 

This is a very effective school. Very good teaching enables pupils to reach high standards in GCSE examinations. There is good provision for pupils’ personal development, and they have many opportunities to develop their talents and pursue their interests outside lessons.

 

Leadership and management are very good, with a particularly clear focus on improving teaching and raising standards.

 

The main school provides very good value for money.”

 

Further information

·        At September 2004, there were 99 Bristol students on roll

·        At September 2004, there were 413 South Gloucestershire students on roll.

·        The school is a specialist school in Sport and also the Arts. This second specialism is as a result of a 2004 invitation from DfES to seventy “highly performing schools” in England to take on a second specialism.

·        The school is a Foundation school. The buildings and land are owned by the Governing Body. The site and buildings are below or well below that required for a school of this size.

 

Ralph Allen

The context statement, taken from the most recent published OFSTED report (January 2004) states that:

 

“Ralph Allen School is an average sized non-denominational comprehensive school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. It is located on the outskirts of Bath and serves a mixed community from prosperous districts as well as low-income areas. It holds School for Health, Investor in People, Investor in

Student Careers and Sportsmark Gold awards and is a Partnership Promotion School. It has recently been granted specialist status as a science school. Almost all pupils are of white British background with a slightly higher than typical percentage of pupils for whom English is not their mother tongue.

Currently no pupil is in the early stages of learning English. Attainment on entry is broadly average. More pupils join the school than leave at other than normal times. The school has a higher than average proportion of pupils with special educational needs of whom the most numerous are those

with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. The proportion of pupils with statements of special educational need is average and the school has a special speech and communication unit.

 

Standards achieved are above average as a result of consistently good teaching. Staff have created a very good ethos that promotes effective learning and personal development. Examination results in the sixth form are well above average as a consequence of very good teaching.

 

Good leadership provides clear direction for the school; management is satisfactory

 

Ralph Allen School is an effective school that provides good value for money.”

 

Further information

·        At September 2004, there were fewer than ten South Gloucestershire students on roll. No other students from outside Bath & North East Somerset were on roll.

·        The school is a specialist school in Science

·        The speech and communication unit at the school is out of use.

·        The site is particularly undersized. The buildings are also undersized but to a lesser degree.

St Gregory’s Catholic College

 

The context statement, taken from the most recent published OFSTED report (November 2005) states that:

 

“Saint Gregory’s Catholic College is a small comprehensive school on the south- western edge of the City of Bath. Half the students are bussed in from a wide area. The college has gained Performing Arts specialist status and has been designated as a high performing Beacon school by the Department for Education and Skills. The college has close links with its partner primary schools as well as with the Catholic sixth form college in the Bristol area. Students are mainly White British, with a small number coming from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The overall effectiveness of the college is good.

Overall leadership by key staff and by the governing body is good.

As a result of the good teaching, students make good progress, especially in Years 7 to 9. Progress made in Years 10 and 11, although good overall, is not as dramatic as that made in the first three years. This differential has begun to lessen, as shown by the 2005 GCSE results.

The college gives good value for money.”

Further information

·        At September 2004, there were 36 South Gloucestershire students on roll. The school reports that in September 2005 there are 111 Wiltshire pupils, 15 pupils from South Gloucestershire and 38 Somerset pupils on roll.

·        The school is a specialist school in Performing Arts

·        The school serves the designated Catholic parishes in Bath & North East Somerset, North West Wiltshire and the northern part of the County of Somerset

·        All land and buildings barring the playing field and a caretaker’s house are owned by the Trustees. The site and buildings are very undersized and expansion opportunities are limited by the location of housing and the Green Belt on the boundaries of the school.

St Mark’s CofE

 

The context statement, taken from the most recent published OFSTED report (November 2002) states that:

 

“St. Mark’s is a voluntary aided Church of England comprehensive school for students aged 11 to 16. The school is very small, with 331 students, and has significantly more boys than girls. Almost all students are white, with a small number from minority ethnic backgrounds. These include a very few with English as an additional language, some of whom are in the early stages of learning English. A significant proportion of students join and leave the school part-way through their secondary education, mostly because their families move house. Many of these students have special educational needs related to behaviour, often coupled with very poor attendance records. The proportion of students with special educational needs is well above average and many have statements of special educational needs, often combining learning and behavioural difficulties.

 

Students come from a broad variety of backgrounds and the school’s social and economic context is, overall, below average. There has been an improvement in the standards among students joining the school in the current Year 7, but overall standards reached by students on entry to the school are well below average.

 

St Mark’s is a good and effective school. It makes good provision for individual needs and all students are fully involved in its work. Achievement is good in relation to the standards reached by students when they join the school. Teaching is satisfactory in Years 7 to 9 and good in Years 10 and 11,

where GCSE results are rising.

 

The Headteacher and governors provide a strong lead and, overall, the school is led and managed well.

 

Although the cost per student is high, the school provides satisfactory value for money.”

 

Further information

·        At September 2004, there were 25 South Gloucestershire students on roll. No other students from outside Bath & North East Somerset were on roll.

·        The school is a specialist school in Business and Enterprise

·        The school serves the parishes of Bathampton, Batheaston, Bathford North, Charlcombe, Kelston, North Stoke, St Catherine and Swainswick.

·        All land and buildings barring the playing field and a surplus property formerly used by the school caretaker house are owned by the Trustees. The site is undersized and has a significant slope. The buildings are undersized but to a lesser degree.

 

 

Historical Numbers on Roll (September each year)

 

School	Places	2000	2000 16+	2001	2001 16+	2002	2002 16+	2003	2003 16+	2004	2004 16+	Avge NOR 00-04	2005	2005 16+	Total NOR 2005	Unfilled Places 2005
Beechen Cliff	1035	767	228	777	188	779	211	792	203	792	228	993	811	236	1047	-12
Culverhay	603	510	68	488	62	487	69	459	51	426	50	534	411	52	463	140
Hayesfield	1165	913	189	960	181	974	172	970	203	974	204	1148	983	221	1204	-39
Oldfield	983	802	119	819	136	803	125	824	79	827	84	924	829	79	908	75
Ralph Allen	1034	846	174	854	147	851	153	868	169	876	164	1020	881	167	1048	-14
St Gregory’s	775	796	0	809	0	823	0	822	0	820	0	814	795	0	795	-20
St Mark’s	540	352	0	321	0	326	0	357	0	373	0	346	348	0	348	192
Totals	6135	4986	778	5018	709	5043	730	5092	705	5088	730		5058	755	5813	407
Average	876	712	111	717	101	720	104	727	101	727	104	826	723	151	830

 

 

St Gregory’s Catholic College is designated as an 11-16 school. Students leaving at the end of Year 11 have the option of attending St Brendan’s Sixth Form College in Bristol

 

St Mark’s School is an 11-18 school but does not recruit to Years 12 and 13. The school has made an arrangement with St Brendan’s for students leaving St Mark’s at the end of Year 11.

Intake against Standard Number / Planned Admission Number

 

School		2000			2001			2002			2003			2004			2005		Average
	SN	Intake	%	SN	Intake	%	SN	Intake	%	SN	Intake	%	PAN	Intake	%	PAN	Intake	%	% of SN
Beechen Cliff	155	157	101	155	159	103	155	165	106	155	161	104	162	161	99	162	163	101	102
Culverhay	154	102	66	154	93	60	154	98	64	154	71	46	146	65	45	146	83	45	56
Hayesfield	210	211	100	210	195	93	210	192	91	210	172	82	210	201	96	210	208	97	94
Oldfield	150	161	107	150	184	123	150	166	111	150	172	115	168	169	101	168	150	101	107
Ralph Allen	165	169	102	165	163	99	165	166	101	165	176	107	175	175	100	175	182	100	102
St Gregory’s	124	169	136	124	161	130	124	162	131	124	163	131	155	161	104	155	162	109	121
St Mark’s	128	73	57	128	59	46	128	64	50	128	81	63	108	78	72	108	70	76	58
	1086	1042	96	1086	1014	93	1086	1013	93	1086	996	92	1124	1010	90	1124	1018	91

 

Intake number is deemed to be the reported numbers in Year 7 at the date of the annual September Pupil Count

Levels of Achievement 2000-2005

 

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
	L1	L2	L3	L1	L2	L3	L1	L2	L3	L1	L2	L3	L1	L2	L3	L1	L2	L3
Authority Average	93	57	15.3	92	56	15.1	91	58	228	92	60	232	92	60	250	92	64	257
National/LSC Average	88	49	17.3	89	50	17.4	89	51	254	89	53	259	89	54	248	90	57	254
England Average																		278
Beechen Cliff	98	60	17.4	97	64	16.5	96	67	274	94	64	273	96	67	276	99	81	308
Culverhay	90	37	12.6	83	33	13.4	76	42	177	84	39	164	80	44	164	86	53	107
Hayesfield	94	54	15.6	93	53	16.7	91	47	267	91	60	270	95	63	271	90	60	268
Oldfield	98	64	15.5	99	74	15.2	97	69	265	95	67	238	96	68	270	99	74	240
Ralph Allen	95	60	18.7	87	53	18.4	91	54	264	90	60	282	97	62	282	89	57	286
St Gregory’s	97	78	N/A	98	68	N/A	95	67	N/A	95	68	N/A	97	71	N/A	98	74	N/A
St Mark’s	86	33	12.3	83	37	N/A	90	43	N/A	98	38	N/A	86	33	N/A	95	29	N/A

 

Key

Level 1 =5 or more A* to G at GCSE

Level 2 =5 or more A* to C at GCSE. This column is highlighted in bold text as it is the most commonly used measure.

Level 3 =Post-16.

 

In 2002 changes were made to the scoring system and also to the area for which averages are calculated. An A equates to 120 points, a B, 100, a C, 80, a D 60 and an E, 40. The totals for each school are then divided by the number of entries to derive the points score per student.

Value Added Measure 2005

A relatively new measure which is designed to reflect the progress made at a school when compared with the results achieved by students in their Key Stage 2 tests (known as SATs). Measures above 1000 represent schools where pupils on average made more progress than similar pupils nationally, while measures below 1000 represent schools where pupils made less progress. Details of pupil mobility are also collected in order to assess the extent to which the Year Group taking GCSEs (Year 11) is comprised of those students who entered the school at Year 7. All secondary schools in Bath & North East Somerset have a pupil mobility score in the mid to high nineties which indicates that there is very little mobility.

 

School	Value Added KS2-KS4
Beechen Cliff	996.0
Culverhay	976.3
Hayesfield	1000.4
Oldfield	1011.1
Ralph Allen	989.4
St Gregory’s	1004.8
St Mark’s	945.1

 

For Information

 

Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 Value Added Measure
Value Added Measures	Percentiles
1057.9 and above	Top 5% of schools nationally
1019.4 - 1057.8	Next 20% of schools nationally
1003.4 - 1019.3	Next 15% of schools nationally
985.7 - 1003.3	Middle 20% of schools nationally
971.1 - 985.6	Next 15% of schools nationally
937.4 - 971.0	Next 20% of schools nationally
937.3 and below	Bottom 5% of schools nationally

 

Site & Building Areas   School	Site Area M2	Recommended Site Area based on planned size	Site Area %	Building Area	Recommended Building Area based on planned size	Building Area %	REQUIRED Team Games Playing Field	Team Games Playing Field	Team Games Playing Field %
Beechen Cliff	81,010	59,955	135	8,888	7,920	112	40,000	19,360	48
Culverhay	92,845	45,763	202	6,797	6,275	108	30,000	57,950	193
Hayesfield	65,460	73,275	89	10,460	9,600	109	45,000	30,560	68
Oldfield	59,600	64,950	92	6,413	8,550	75	40,000	21,180	53
Ralph Allen	54,280	63,563	85	7,972	8,375	95	40,000	20,330	51
St Gregory’s	32,090	59,400	54	5,765	7,210	80	40,000	21,740	54
St Mark’s	34,500	44,970	77	5,157	5,468	94	30,000	11,750	39

Notes

·        Recommended site and building areas are set out in the DfES guidance document Building Bulletin 98 (BB98). Assessment of the areas available to a school represents good asset management practice.

·        Assessment of the proportion of site and building areas available is made against the mid-point of BB98 guidance. Assessment of team games playing field area is made against the School Premises Regulations 1999

·        The site and building areas attributed to Hayesfield incorporate all four sites owned by the school.

·        The building area attributed to Culverhay includes areas leased to private day nursery and Bath Spa University. It excludes the Sports Centre. The site area includes the Glasshouse Playing Field which is an off-site provision at Frome Road, Bath

·        A site or building which is too small will make management of the school more problematic. A site or building that is oversized will require more resources in order to maintain it. Such resources will come from the school budget and thus leave less to allocate to direct delivery of the curriculum.

Outstanding Planned Maintenance

 

School	Outstanding Planned Maintenance Urgent and Essential 2005 to 2006	Outstanding Planned Maintenance Desirable and Long Term 2007 to 2014	Total 2005 to 2014	Urgent & Essential Planned Maintenance per head based on average NOR 00-04
Beechen Cliff	321,000	516,000	837,000	843
Culverhay	766,000	274,000	1,040,000	1948
Hayesfield	260,000	403,500	663,500	579
Oldfield	268,000	1,040,500	1,308,500	1416
Ralph Allen	494,000	950,000	1,444,000	1416
St Gregory’s	355,000	350,000	705,000	887
St Mark’s	170,000	745,000	915,000	2645
Totals	2,634,000	4,279,000	6,913,000

Notes

 

DfES and Property Services define Urgent as ‘Work that will prevent immediate closure of premises, and/or address an immediate high risk to the health and safety of occupants and/or remedy a serious breach of legislation’. Essential is defined as ‘Work required within two years that will prevent serious deterioration of the fabric or services and/or address a medium risk to the health and safety of occupants and/or remedy a less serious breach of legislation’

 

There are a number of temporary buildings at our schools. Replacement of temporary buildings is a priority in the Asset Management Plan. Costs of replacing these buildings are not included above. In some instances costs are not available. An assessment of the quality of such buildings forms part of the Suitability statements below.

Suitability

School accommodation is assessed against recommendations in the DfES publication Building Bulletin 98.  Information provided by the Schools Assets Manager.

 

Beechen Cliff

The school comprises a main 1920’s two storey block and several other teaching blocks added at later dates.  These include 5 general classrooms and Science and Music in temporary buildings. The school has sufficient general classrooms and ICT rooms but many are undersized. The school is short of two Technology (Food Technology) spaces and one Science space. The Hall, Library, Common Room and Music spaces are all undersized. There is a general shortage of storage and the circulation routes in the main building are restricted.  Playing fields and changing facilities are on site.

 

Culverhay

The school comprises four permanent blocks (excluding two blocks used by third parties). The school has sufficient Science, Technology Art and ICT accommodation but some require refurbishment and updating.  There is sufficient staff accommodation but much is undersized.  Playing fields and changing facilities are provided both on and off the site.

 

Hayesfield

The school is situated on 4 separate sites, Lower, Upper, 6th Form and a detached playing field. The Upper School in Upper Oldfield Park comprises the main permanent block on two floors and four temporary buildings.  The Gym, Dining Hall / Kitchen and two general classrooms are housed in temporary buildings. The Lower School is situated approx 0.3 mile away in Brougham Hayes and comprises a permanent block on two floors and a Drama building.  The 6th form is situated in a converted house with accommodation on four separate floors.   Much of the accommodation here is undersized.  The organisation of the school has led to duplication of hall and IT spaces and deficiencies in others: Music and Drama. Many general classrooms are undersized; Science accommodation is undersized and requires refurbishment.  There is insufficient storage and circulation is very restricted in the Upper School site.  PE facilities are inadequate. The Gym is in exceptionally poor condition and requires replacement although the Authority has no plans or funding to undertake this project.  There are no playing fields on site.

 

Oldfield

The school comprises three permanent blocks and five temporary  buildings, three of which are used for specialist teaching.  The school has sufficient general classrooms, Science, Technology and Music accommodation but is short of an Art and a Drama space. The existing Drama space is very undersized.   Playing fields and changing facilities are on site.

 

Ralph Allen

The school is the designated accessible secondary school for Bath.  It comprises six permanent blocks and six temporary buildings, three of which are used for specialist teaching. The school has sufficient general classrooms and specialist teaching spaces but a shortfall in Music and Drama.  Non teaching accommodation is sufficient but the staffroom is undersized and storage is inadequate. The school has an all weather pitch in very poor condition and uses the adjacent Sulis Club playing fields.

 

St Gregory’s

The school comprises four permanent blocks and one temporary building.  It has sufficient general classrooms although several are undersized. It has sufficient specialist teaching spaces although it is short of one Music space. Some Science and Technology accommodation requires refurbishment.  Non teaching accommodation is sufficient but much is undersized and there is inadequate storage.  The school has a playing field and changing facilities on site.

 

St Marks

The school comprises one permanent block that extends down a sloping site and additional permanent blocks some of which are used by a playgroup. The school has sufficient general classrooms and specialist teaching spaces although many of these require refurbishment and some are undersized.  Non teaching accommodation is generally adequate.  Pupil changing facilities are undersized.  There is no playing field on site and the all weather surface is in very poor condition.

Financial Information

 

School	Formula Allocation	FTE Pupils	Budget Share per Pupil	Standards Funds	Standards Grant	Total Standards Funding	Total Standards Funding per Pupil	Total Funding	Total Funding per Pupil
Beechen Cliff	3,194,241	1016	3,144	373,513	102,323	475,836	468	3,670,077	3,612
Culverhay	1,667,025	458	3,640	346,099	82,000	428,099	935	2,095,124	4,575
Hayesfield Technology College	3,750,649	1173	3,197	384,568	100,876	485,444	414	4,236,093	3,611
Oldfield	2,709,683	922	2,939	328,035	100,615	428,650	465	3,138,333	3,404
Ralph Allen	3,344,315	1035	3,231	397,750	101,004	498,754	482	3,843,069	3,713
St Gregory's Catholic College	2,283,762	806	2,833	236,968	99,351	336,319	417	2,620,080	3,251
St Mark's CofE	1,407,742	372	3,784	145,260	92,637	237,897	640	1,645,639	4,424
SECONDARY AVERAGES	2,622,488	826	3,175	316,028	96,972	413,000	546	3,035,488	3,799

 

LSC Funding	LSC Funding	Total 6th form Pupils	Total LSC Funding per Pupil
Beechen Cliff	938,677	218	4,306
Culverhay	241,145	46	5,242
Hayesfield Technology College	907,014	198	4,581
Oldfield	349,500	81	4,315
Ralph Allen	765,217	158	4,843
AVERAGES	640,311	140	4,657

 

 

A REVIEW OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN

THE GREATER BATH AREA

 

DRAFT CONCLUSIONS

 

“Building Schools for the Future will provide a valuable opportunity for LEAs to look radically at existing provision and make changes that they believe will contribute to the core agenda of raising standards, removing surplus places and matching school places with parental choice.”

 

“Local education authorities and schools now have an exciting opportunity to consider from first principles what secondary school buildings are needed, where they should be and what facilities they should each have.”

 

“Authorities and schools will be able to make visionary changes to school organisation, as well as investing in modernisation and renewal, so that all schools can play their part in the delivery of higher educational standards in the future.”

 

“…there should be a willingness to look at all options for raising educational standards, including radical strategic change and reform, to create new opportunities for all schools.”

 

From “Building Schools for the Future” DfES 2003

 

The aims of the BSF programme are clear. All stakeholders need to consider  how to use the funding flowing from this programme to reorganise schools in order to raise standards.

 

Officers believe that it would not be sensible for the Council and other stakeholders to approach the BSF programme in the Bath area in the expectation that all existing schools will be replaced / refurbished in their present form.

 

Two of the seven schools in the GBC have high levels of unfilled places. Surveys of parental opinion undertaken in 1998 and 2004 have shown that there is an unmet demand for co-educational places in the area. It should also be noted that the results of the 2004 survey indicate that the most important considerations when choosing a school were the reputation of the school and the examination results at GCSE and A level. Denomination and whether a school was single-sex  were regarded as of lesser importance.

 

Given that the principal aim of the GBC Review is to raise levels of attainment and levels of added value then there is a strong case for examining the future of our schools where, for a variety of reasons, standards and / or levels of added value, fall significantly below national and local expectations. The reasons for the disparity in levels of attainment and added value also need examination.

 

In order to respond to unmet demand and address the differences in our schools Officers believe that changes in the type (co-educational / single-sex), size, age range served (potential options include not only 11-18 and 11-16 but also 4-16 or 3-18) and possibly, the location, of all existing GBC schools should be considered.

 

Furthermore, in considering the future of secondary education in Bath we should be prepared to separate institutions from locations. This means that it is possible for an existing, or part of an existing site, to be used either for a newly established school or for the relocation and replacement of an existing school.

 

Housing development within Bath over the next two decades will no doubt create demand for secondary school places. Almost 3,000 homes are planned at Western Riverside, although a large number of these new homes will not be aimed at families with children. According to the emerging Regional Spatial Strategy, further development around the City is likely although debate continues over the extent and location of such development. However, given that several hundred students from outside Bath & North East Somerset attend GBC schools and that we currently have over 400 unfilled places there seems to be no need for increased secondary capacity in the medium and longer term.