Admissions policy at popular school will be delayed
Last minute changes have been made to controversial plans for the admissions policy at a hugely-oversubscribed Northampton school.
More than 100 worried parents packed a meeting at the Guildhall yesterday, held to decide the future admissions policy at Caroline Chisholm School which would mean youngsters from the Grange Park estate going to Roade School Sports College instead.
They were told that, as a result of their lobbying, implementation of the change would now be delayed from the expected 2011 to 2013, and siblings of children already at Caroline Chisholm will now be given priority admission to it.
The meeting of Northamptonshire County Council schools admission forum voted in favour of the new admission policy for the popular school to put an end to what the county says is an unfair system which currently leaves some children at the school's main feeder primaries unable to get a place.
Under the policy the new priority order for admissions is: Children in public care, pupils who live in the linked area for the school – Courteenhall, Grange Park (for admissions up to and including September 2012), Quinton, Simpson Manor, Hardingstone from September 2013, Wootton Fields and Wootton village; pupils with siblings continuing at the secondary section of the school at the time of admission of the younger child; pupils attending Preston Hedges, Hardingstone (from September 2013), and Wootton primary schools and, possibly, Woodland View Primary up to and including 2012.
But, in another last-minute change at the meeting, consultation will now take place about increasing the size of Woodland View Primary instead.
Head of Caroline Chisholm School, Tony Downing, told the meeting he supported the delay to 2013 and the restored sibling link but appealed for more time to come to an agreeement to "benefit all the children in our schools".
After the meeting, Paul Denton, spokesman for Grange Park parents who oppose the move, said: "We are really disappointed that this decision has been made, especially as some information came to us late or was even withheld from us.
"We think it is significant that even headteachers here were not in favour of this going ahead at this time. We shall be fighting on."
A decision on the plan will be made by the county council cabinet in April, although their decision could be appealed to the Government.
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Weather for Northampton
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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