West End Letters: rewrite history | Jane Eades | North Westminster Community School

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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 13 March 2009

Why try to rewrite history?

• IT saddens me that, since the closure of North Westminster Community School, both Paddington Academy and Westminster Academy have sought to justify themselves by distorting reality.
Maureen Pepper (Results have improved, March 13) has sought to ignore the GCSE results which include English and maths because those show that Westminster Academy’s results are still worse than NWCS in its last year, despite the incredible disruption caused to NWCS by Westminster Academy’s demands that the student body was restructured repeatedly to suit them. But, of course, she wasn’t there at the time to understand just how difficult life was made for staff and students.
According to Department for Children, Schools and Families 2008 figures Westminster Academy achieved 20 per cent five A*-C grades (including English and maths), up from 17 per cent in 2007.
Its value-added score of 938 is, according to DCSF figures, the second lowest in the country.
Unfortunately I don’t have the comparative value-added scores for NWCS.
It probably doesn’t suit either Westminster City Council or the DCSF to give easy access to these.
As for behaviour, I’m afraid that I have had messages from ex-NWCS students who wanted to ask for advice about moving younger siblings to a different school because of their concerns.
I will, however, congratulate Westminster Academy on its improved attendance, up from 83 per cent to 91 per cent – nearly as good as North Westminster’s 92 per cent.
I should be grateful if these attempts by the council and the academies to rewrite history would stop.
If Paddington Academy and Westminster Academy wish to show pride in their achievements, why do they need to do it by denigrating the skill and dedication of the staff of NWCS and by insulting the students?
Further, why are the long-suffering staff at both schools being treated to repeated changes of heads and senior management?
Jane Eades
ex-Director of Upper School
North Westminster Community School
Petergate, SW11

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld.
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