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LATEST NEWS:

PASS on The Politics Show, Sunday 8th June 2008, 12 noon

PASS in the Gazette click here and here

PASS’s response to Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s BSF Consultation Document, click here

As you may know Hammersmith and Fulham Council has released their consultation document about their vision for our local secondary schools. It is the Local Authority’s first round of consultation before applying for £120million from central government to invest in our local secondary schools over the next 10 years. 

PASS is really disappointed with this document as it seems the council has ignored parent’s views. We presented a proposal to the Council for a Parent Promoted Foundation School which did not make it into the potential options. However, thanks to all our support the Council has since asked us to resubmit our proposal click here the see it. We hope that the final draft of the Councils’ submission for funding due to be published on the 1st July 2008 will include parent’s views.

In essence the current proposal from the Council presents two options, neither of which we support: 

1.model one calls for a bilingual French Academy run in partnership with the French government at the Hurlingham and Chelsea School. This may look like an attractive option as the Lycee in South Ken has a good reputation and there are huge benefits to being able to speak more than one language (though why French rather than, say, Spanish, Mandarin or Russian?). However, at least two thirds of the places will be ring-fenced for children from a fee paying French junior school (planned on the Peterborough Primary School site). On top of this, once a school becomes an Academy, the Sponsor body sets its own admissions policy and there is the potential for the manipulation of entry criteria of the remaining places to suit the 4% of our borough who are French and who currently can't get into the Lycee (they have a 500 place waiting list).The Hurlingham and Chelsea school is the second most improved school in the country and has set up a Transformation Board to further its progress. There seems to us to be some value in supporting the amazing work being done there.

2.model two calls for one massive school run on three separate sites. We do not feel a large school would suit the needs of local children.

PASS only speak for the parents. The only agenda we have is for good schools for our children. We have spent a lot of time and effort getting to know the local schools and the council, and firmly believe that the BSF proposal as it stands is not in the best interest of the residents and voters of the borough.