Schools told to improve or close

Looks like schools are going to close then. I can't see targets being met at the schools in my area.

Almost one in five secondary schools in England is to be given a warning to improve exam results or face closure.

The government is targeting 638 schools, in which fewer than 30% of pupils achieve at least five good GCSEs including English and maths.

There are 27 secondary schools in Birmingham, 33 in Kent and 13 in Manchester facing this exams ultimatum.

Link

List of schools below 30%

[cimt]

Oh dear. The school I went to is on that list. Shame, it's getting merged with another school that is also on that list anyways. I like the idea of it, but can you really see the schools improving much?

Unfortunately cimt, no I cant. Most kids are lacking discipline in the home and at school. You can change the teachers, close the schools, but you can't change the parents, and I feel that is where the discipline starts, at home with the parents.

[Osem]

Methinks this has more to do with bolstering HMG's flagship Academy system than improving the lot of disadvantaged secondary school children.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opini...ime.4125271.jp

---------- Post added at 09:52 ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 ----------

Originally Posted by Enuff

Unfortunately cimt, no I cant. Most kids are lacking discipline in the home and at school. You can change the teachers, close the schools, but you can't change the parents, and I feel that is where the discipline starts, at home with the parents.

Not sure I agree with all of that but asking teachers to make up for the deficiencies of bad parents is asking a hell of a lot.

[nomadking]

Couple of things to note:-

1) If academies are meant to be the solution, why are there several in the list?

2) A very high proportion have specialist subject areas, but they cannot select more than a certain percentage(25%?) of pupils who have an ability in that area. So, of course they are going to do badly. This also means that those pupils that do not have an ability in that area are well and truly stuffed. I remember in the 70's being sent to a secondary modern because the grammar school had been reclassified as a comprehensive.

Well my daughter is an A grade student with the system we have at the minute and i am routinely lost for words at her lack of basic knowledge and the general stupidity of what she says sometimes. Some examples being "well there is only britain america and europe so which one is africa in" that was during a discussion about rwanda and the troubles they had. Another while seeing news from Iraq "is world war 2 ever going to end" during an ad break on tele "yeah i told my stupid friend who churchhill was it's that dog on the adverts". So excuse me if i feel a lot more schools could do with a damn good caning as if thats what passes for A grade i truly shudder for the future of this country. Ultimate joke about all this guess what she is planning to be yep you got it a TEACHER.

We'll see.I suspect this government will be gone long before this happens...

Anyway if you try to treat education like a commodity what can you expect?Plus as I've said time and time again that we need to return to teaching more vocational courses because clearly not every child can be in the top percentage.Trying to drive the lower ability children into the next statistic grouping up was never going to work and never will.Square pegs and round holes springs to mind.

Stupid government after stupid government have completely messed up because they will not work out a LONG TERM solution.They have increased the work load for both teachers and students without any long term benefit.

I would love to see a permanent all party committee to take charge of education long term but I suspect that is just too sensible.

Instead we deal in 5 yearism and every so often start up some new instant quick fit solution only to abandon it two or three years down the line or when we have a new bunch of useless twits voted in.

Oh and Bridgemary school has had a terrible rep for the last 15 years but then it does have some of the worst catchment areas in the entire town.The other two secondary schools do get a better pick of the students.

Couldn't agree more with all you've said, Incog.

The obsession Governments have with measuring 'success' only serves to highlight 'failure', in my opinion.

I believe that the targets set are arbitrary & fail to address the point that schools should provide an all round education, not just coach the students to put the required ticks in boxes on a KPI chart

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Looking at that list i could have guessed the two schools that would be affected in Peterborough. The schools with pupils coming from the lowest income areas.

There are schools in Peterborough that are worse in terms of moving education on but because the kids that go to those schools are more advanced when they start, the fact they dont make so much progress is hidden.

[checker]

Another knee jerk reaction. Absolute rubbish, No school will close as there is nowhere for all the kids to go. What are the government going to do with up to 2,000 kids with no school? Perhaps they will bus them around the county at great cost to the tax payers. Why don't these politicians engage brain before opening mouth?

Originally Posted by checker

Another knee jerk reaction. Absolute rubbish, No school will close as there is nowhere for all the kids to go. What are the government going to do with up to 2,000 kids with no school? Perhaps they will bus them around the county at great cost to the tax payers. Why don't these politicians engage brain before opening mouth?

What will happen is that each school will close down and reopen under a new name with new staff,new head and possibly new governors.The problem will still remain of the same catchment areas,same students and same home background.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

The problem will still remain of the same catchment areas,same students and same home background.

Correct but HMG will have thrown loads of cash at the problem and that's what they do best isn't it.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Osem

Correct but HMG will have thrown loads of cash at the problem and that's what they do best isn't it.

But only to Labour voting areas.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by nomadking

But only to Labour voting areas.

If they're lucky - so much of it seems to go down the drain or in the pockets of lawyers, advisors and consultants as far as I can see.