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School supporters Carol Fletcher, Arnie Gibbons, Jill Barton, acting head Diana Nwabunor, Cllr Wally Burgess and Victoria Phillips |
Parents’ pleas fail to prevent 30-pupil cut in school intake
Education chief maintains smaller roll will offer chance to cut class sizes
DISAPPOINTED parents have lost their battle to overturn plans to cut pupil numbers at an “outstanding” school.
Governors, teachers and parents begged Lib Dem schools chief Councillor Ursula Woolley to drop proposals to reduce the annual pupil intake to 150 at Islington Arts and Media School (IAMS) in Finsbury Park.
But, after an emotional plea from governors’ chairwoman Victoria Phillips, members of the Town Hall’s overview committee on Thursday voted against reviewing the decision to cut 30 pupils from the roll.
Ms Phillips, who is worried the Turle Road school will lose much-needed rebuilding money, said: “We’re deeply opposed to this move for educational reasons. I suspect other schools are thinking ‘thank goodness this isn’t us’. We feel we’re very much victims of BSF [Building Schools for the Future] and geographical location.”
She added: “We’re concerned about our outstanding curriculum... about whether we can deliver the top standard with 150 [first-year pupils] instead of 180. It feels like a retrograde step which can only be seen as something very negative and will create further problems for us in the future.”
Labour councillor Wally Burgess, speaking as an IAMS governor, told the committee: “BSF has to be for 180 otherwise you’re condemning that part of the borough and an excellent school to a very dismal future.”
Cllr Woolley argued that the school must lose one form of entry – 30 pupils – because there are too many places in Islington’s schools.
She said: “I believe a reduction in numbers is certainly compatible with improving schools. Otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it.
“The school has certainly improved and fast but the number of applications has fallen. It’s the most consistently undersubscribed in the borough.”
When asked if the decision was being pushed through now because of the council’s need to allocate BSF cash, she said: “Because of the stage we’re at, now is the best time to make this decision so we can plan in as much flexibility for the longer term.”
Cllr Woolley promised IAMS would be given “extensive and detailed” assistance in managing a reduced budget. She added: “IAMS has the chance to go for smaller class sizes – for example, six forms with 25 pupils in each through BSF planning – and I think that’s a really attractive opportunity for local families.”
But headteacher Richard Ewen, who was unable to attend Thursday’s meeting due to illness, says his school is being punished because of bad planning by the council, which he claims has allowed too many schools to open in the borough.
Labour councillor Phil Kelly said that the problem was of the Lib
Dems’ making. “We opened a tenth school. It was the council’s decision to go for it and now we’ve got a school’s worth of surplus places,” he said. “It was a complete mistake and at least a sorry to this school is called for. IAMS has built itself up to a decent school but there aren’t enough children to go round.” |
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