Bristol Cathedral School want to take over the Central Library basement...

[JTG]

Got told of this yesterday, having spent most of my summer in fields I'm a bit behind.

So. BCS (formerly independent, since opted into state sector as an academy or summat - correct me if my terminology is wrong) are opening a junior school next year (I think). They reckon the best place for it is the lower two floors of the Bristol Central Library. Which is odd. They are talking to BCC about renting this space for the new school

Problems:
1) The space is currently home to the city archives, so we'd be talking about moving them from their currently easily accessible location to somewhere else, who knows where
2) Is a basement an appropriate space to send young children for five days a week?! Surely not
3) Obvious problems with traffic/parking, especially as parents of young children are more likely to need to come into the school rather than simply drop off/pick up
4) Yeah it's a new primary school. But given its central location (cost of getting there) and automatic entry to the senior school, it's intended as a state funded school for Stoke Bishop/Westbury/Henleaze isn't it?

So, those in opposition to it (and there are many) find themselves on the same side as none other than Cllr Richard Eddy (C Bishopsworth) who is leading a petition against it.

Anyone want to tell me more? I can't bear to read the Post's dreadful website

 

[strung out]

Mayor Red Trousers has approved the plan to lease the lower floors of the Central Library to the free school, going against the wishes of the scrutiny committee, who recommended an independent report on the proposal be produced.

Rumours abound tonight that there is an indenture from 1906 on the building saying that it can only be used as a library, which neither the school nor the council knew about. Whose responsibility it is to overturn this, I'm not sure.

I suspect this battle could go on a while, though the primary campaigners (Love Bristol Libraries) seem to be pretty resigned on twitter tonight.

 

[kropotkin]

To be honest, we need all the space we can get in South bristol. The South bristol schools crisis campaign has been brilliant and has managed to help spur the council into securing enough reception classes to meet the needs of the odd and unprecedented demographic shift that has taken place.
My oldest goes to school in September and so we have been looking at schools for a month or two. We were going to go and look at the cathedral school, as there simply wasn't enough provision locally in southville. Luckily a last minute deal has been done to expand our local school to take three reception classes (90 four year olds), although it does mean that there may be need for outside learning spaces "such as a yurt". I shit you not. The other local school has also had to expand to three reception classes. It is completely baby crazy here. We need to stop fucking.

 

[Geri]

Well, perhaps they should open a fucking school where it's needed then instead of trying to steal public space. Arrogant pricks.

 

[strung out]

To be honest, we need all the space we can get in South bristol. The South bristol schools crisis campaign has been brilliant and has managed to help spur the council into securing enough reception classes to meet the needs of the odd and unprecedented demographic shift that has taken place.
My oldest goes to school in September and so we have been looking at schools for a month or two. We were going to go and look at the cathedral school, as there simply wasn't enough provision locally in southville. Luckily a last minute deal has been done to expand our local school to take three reception classes (90 four year olds), although it does mean that there may be need for outside learning spaces "such as a yurt". I shit you not. The other local school has also had to expand to three reception classes. It is completely baby crazy here. We need to stop fucking.

You should be glad that you didn't end up sending your kid to CPS. It's utterly unsuitable for a primary school - barely any outside play area for 420 primary school children, shared dining facilities with secondary school in a different building, and an utterly barmy location away from where all the people who need schools live.

Fuck knows how Ferguson decided to ignore the scrutiny report. This has got all the trademarks of a stitch up between the mayor and his merchant venturer mates.

 

[Thora]

I'm not sure giving private schools public money to take over public buildings is the best way to solve the school place problem either.

 

[kropotkin]

The cathedral primary school isn't private, it is state funded.

 

[kropotkin]

You should be glad that you didn't end up sending your kid to CPS. It's utterly unsuitable for a primary school - barely any outside play area for 420 primary school children, shared dining facilities with secondary school in a different building, and an utterly barmy location away from where all the people who need schools live.

Fuck knows how Ferguson decided to ignore the scrutiny report. This has got all the trademarks of a stitch up between the mayor and his merchant venturer mates.

Most of the schools locally have fuck all outside space, and what they do have is concrete. Ashton Gate primary school has an old car park. All a far cry from my childhood running about in a big playing field.

 

[strung out]

Most of the schools locally have fuck all outside space, and what they do have is concrete. Ashton Gate primary school has an old car park. All a far cry from my childhood running about in a big playing field.

The scrutiny commission rejected the proposal before it got to GF.

There's a lot of good information here about why the site is wholly inappropriate for development into a primary school http://lovebristollibraries.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/bristol-scrutiny-what-did-the-committee-think/

It's going to mean job losses in the library service too, as well as a reduced service for library users, at a time when the libraries in Bristol are already facing huge cuts.

 

[DaveCinzano]

The cathedral primary school isn't private, it is state funded.

It has been "state funded" for just 36 of its 873 years of continuous existence (4.12%), most recently since 2008 when it became an academy. Many recognise that the academy system is a way of offering state sector class-based or academic selection by the back door, and without local democratic checks and balances.

Free School Meal eligibility, the most widely available gauge of social background in the education system (though as this paper notes, a blunt tool with a propensity for underreporting disadvantage in areas with extremely low income households), in 2012 was a mere 11.2% versus a national average of 26.7% (using stats via Ofsted). Before 2012, when Ofsted changed its reporting methodology, the figures are 4.2% versus 15.4% (2010) and 3.8% versus 15.9% (2011).

Data from the Office of National Statistics' Neighbourhood Statistics was also used by the Fair Admissions Campaign to map social inclusivity using FSM and English as an Additional Language numbers. This project places Bristol Cathedral Choir School in the bottom 1% nationally for socio-economic inclusion, with FSM elgibility of 5.27% against a local area (ie Bristol unitary authority) average of 31.93%.

For comparison FSM eligibility in Bristol's three neighbouring authorities - part of BCCS's target catchment area - South Gloucestershire is 4.51%, North Somerset is 4.63%, and BANES is 10.31%.

 

[wiskey]

Most of the schools locally have fuck all outside space, and what they do have is concrete. Ashton Gate primary school has an old car park. All a far cry from my childhood running about in a big playing field.

Werv is in reception at compass point South street and of the four schools (southville, AP, luckwell, CP*) it seems by far the least chaotic in terms of expanding classes, losing libraries to be classrooms etc. And it has loads of outside space.

I had no idea you lived around here

*Ashton Gate has already bought a new site and is expanding.
*Southville has bought a site behind tescos on North St and will split into two in a few years. Next year will be a three form reception intake.
*Luckwell has lost non teaching classrooms to be form rooms
*CP is building an extension in the rear car park but it causes minimal disruption to the kids. And is due to have the early years playground redone soon.

 

[Thora]

Perfect for Southville parents concerned about school places by the sounds of it

 

[kropotkin]

Wiskey : Hello! Didn't know you were here either. My son will hopefully be going to southville primary as the expansion means we will be in the catchment area (so the split is in September next year). My wife reliably tells me we live 260m away (!), last year the furthest non-sibling admission was around 50m away. Too many kids. God knows whatll happen to the pressure on high school places in 10 years. I hope they start to plan ahead.

 

[wiskey]

Wiskey : Hello! Didn't know you were here either. My son will hopefully be going to southville primary as the expansion means we will be in the catchment area (so the split is in September next year). My wife reliably tells me we live 260m away (!), last year the furthest non-sibling admission was around 50m away. Too many kids. God knows whatll happen to the pressure on high school places in 10 years. I hope they start to plan ahead.

My friend lives literally opposite southville school, her daughter started reception this year... They had already worked out exactly who would be taking one of the 12 precious non-sibling places well before allocations were announced in April. It all seemed a bit incestuous to me tbh.

Hope you get in if you want to

 

[DaveCinzano]

I hope they start to plan ahead.

LOL

 

[kropotkin]

I know, but they've got 10 years!

 

[Geri]

What is 'high school'?

 

[Thora]

Wiskey : Hello! Didn't know you were here either. My son will hopefully be going to southville primary as the expansion means we will be in the catchment area (so the split is in September next year). My wife reliably tells me we live 260m away (!), last year the furthest non-sibling admission was around 50m away. Too many kids. God knows whatll happen to the pressure on high school places in 10 years. I hope they start to plan ahead.

It's not quite as bad as that! Furthest place awarded on distance in 2013 was 223m for Southville Primary.