Cautious welcome for school admissions decision
3 February 2007
Green councillors cautiously welcome the decision of the council’s schools committee to adopt the fixed catchment system for secondary school admissions agreed on Friday night (2 February).
Green convenor councillor Keith Taylor said, “While this is not a long term solution and it must be kept under review, we're relieved that the committee adopted the fixed catchment system which allows fairer access to secondary schools for more families than under the old system.
“However, as Greens have argued all along, the underlying problem is the unequal geographic distribution of schools across the city.
"If Greens are re-elected to the council in May we'll push hard for a solution to this problem.
"We welcome the unanimous support for the Green Party amendment which ensures that, in the event of over-subscription, extra places will be made available for children who live within their catchment area.
"This will help to reassure parents who live close to popular schools.
“We also welcome the decision to keep the 'BN2 3' Elm Grove post code area with the rest of the city centre catchment zone.
"Finally, we thank the school admission review panel and the parent stakeholder group for all their work on this extremely difficult issue."
Notes to editors:
For more information please contact Geoffrey Bowden Green Party Press Officer on 07958 682 683.[ENDS]
