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Terry Powers |
School booms but neighbours sound warning
Ofsted report reveals target roll of 1,700 despite claims that site is too small
A POPULAR city academy has come under fire from neighbours who claim it has “quietly” increased its pupil intake by more than 300 despite mounting problems of playground noise and nuisance.
St Mary Magdalene Academy, in Liverpool Road, Holloway, which opened two years ago, was originally meant to have a sixth form of 250 pupils starting this September.
Now, according to an Ofsted report on the school’s website, that number is being increased by 50 to 300. According to Ofsted, the school will eventually cater for 1,700 children aged from four to 18, compared to original estimates of 1,413 in 2004.
More than 1,000 secondary-age children will be expected to crowd into a small playground about 15 yards by 15 yards, say neighbours.
They argue that, where many big schools have playing fields, St Mary’s has been squeezed into the site of a former primary school and an old people’s home. Oversubscribed, St Mary’s has more than four applications for every place.
Neighbours who live around the perimeter of the school complain that “poor design” means they are disturbed by noise from the playground. According to some residents, floodlights are switched on at 6am in winter, causing glare in kitchens and bedrooms. Residents are also concerned about plans for a three-week summer play scheme starting next month.
The school playground is a few feet from the rear of father-of-five Terry Powers’ home. He can see it – and more importantly hear it – from his bedroom.
Mr Powers, 57, said that, while he had always welcomed the school, he feared it was too small and sited in the wrong place.
A member of newly-formed Crossley Street Residents’ Association, Mr Powers added: “It is far too small for the number of children who attend and too close to our homes.
“It may be an academy run by the Church of England, but it doesn’t mean that the kids are always particularly well behaved. The trouble is being so close we have to put up with the odd fight or row.”
Residents complain that the school gate in Sherringham Road is no longer supervised morning and afternoon. Mr Powers said: “We get children blocking the pavement and parents, who should be walking their kids to school, are parking cars all over the place and causing obstructions.”
Residents want a motorway-style glass acoustic fence put up to block noise from the school. They are planning to meet its new headteacher, Paul Hollingum.
Another neighbour, builder John Cracknell, said he would be disappointed if pupil numbers at the school were increased.
“We get the noise from the playground,” he added. “Islington Council should be providing us with double-glazing. They could even plant a tree to shield my kitchen window.
“We have to put our blinds down when they are holding a meeting at the school because people can look across and see into our kitchen.”
Mr Hollingum said there were no plans to extend the school to 1,700 pupils. “If we did do that, we would need to find extra space,” he said.
There were always three members of staff at the Sherringham Road gate, although they may not always have been visible, Mr Hollingum added. Floodlights had to go on at 6am for the cleaners in the winter.
As of next year, each year group will have its own time slot in the playground, cutting the numbers there at any one time. |
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