Bath & North East Somerset Council met last Thursday 27
March to discuss proposals which aim to further improve Secondary
education standards and provide the best opportunities for children
and young people. Councillors put forward their views on the
proposals, which affect the districts’ 13 Secondary schools, for
consideration by the Cabinet at its next meeting on 14 May.
The proposals follow work with schools, governors, parents,
pupils and the wider community over the past two years. This
involved looking at the challenges and achievements of local
schools and planning the best possible pattern of Secondary
schooling for the future.
A key part of the work was undertaken by the Council’s Children
and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel through its
Secondary School Review, published last year.
Councillor Chris Watt, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services,
said: “The Council has grasped an historic opportunity to make its
views known on the Cabinet’s plans for a fundamental reorganisation
of our secondary schools.
“Bath & North East Somerset Council is very proud of its
Secondary education. Standards are high; our recent top 10 ranking
at Key Stage 3 (age 14) in English Maths and Science and
consistently good and improving GCSE results clearly demonstrate
this.
"Our challenge is that this success reduces our chance of early
access to Government funds to build new schools, and, whilst we
have excellent staff and leadership teams, our school buildings are
in poor condition and acting as a barrier to further
improvements.
"If we are to give our children the best education that we can,
we need to persuade the Government to invest in our schools and
that means removing excess capacity and focusing on the needs of
our own families and children. The new schools proposed here will
enable our children to excel in facilities fit for the 21st
century."
Depending on the outcome of the Cabinet’s discussions in May,
full consultation with parents, pupils and the wider community is
then likely to begin in the summer.
Leaflets providing further details about the Strategy and the
options have been issued to all staff and parents of children and
young people in our schools.
