There are many reasons why St Joseph’s College, a Catholic grammar in
Stoke-on-Trent, is a thriving school. Its academic performance at GCSE and
A-level puts it in the top 200 in the country. Its pastoral care is
sensitive and exhaustive. Its extra-curricular activities are the best the
state system has to offer. And its head teacher, Roisin Maguire, is, says
Ofsted, an “outstanding leader”.
But it’s the smell of fresh bread, wafting from a DT laboratory, that gets me.
It’s the interrupted year 9 French class who wait, in turn, to give
different reasons why each and every one of them “loves coming to school”.
It’s the first XV rugby team sheet stuck to the noticeboard in the school
reception. And it’s the sixth-former, Katie Bailey, who has no fear in
asking to plunder my contacts book so that she can “get into journalism”.
Astonishingly, this happy, confident establishment – one of 164 grammar
schools remaining in the country – is threatened with closure. Under plans
drawn up by Serco, the private company enlisted by Stoke-on-Trent council to
tackle the authority’s educational needs, it is possible that St Joseph’s
could close in 2010 to be replaced by a nonselective Catholic school on the
same site, with a different set of governors and staff. It would be the
first grammar school to shut for nearly 20 years.
Stoke-on-Trent, a Labour council, turned to Serco because it was in freefall,
having been named the third worst local authority for education in the
country. Serco, in turn, has responded by drafting four proposals to
restructure the authority’s secondary schools. The “favoured” proposal at
present is to shut all the secondary schools in the area and reopen 12 new
secondary schools – a mixture of trust schools and academies – and four new
special schools in the district, with a £200m boost in funding.
The restructuring is, says Ged Rowney, director of children and young people’s
services, a “great opportunity” and one that it is “essential we grasp”.
This is all well and good. Stoke-on-Trent does need to do something about
its secondary schools. But why meddle with its best? The council says that
for the process to be “fair” it needs to consider all schools in its
restructuring process, not just the failing ones. Part of the problem for
Stoke is that its schools are 23% under capacity – which means, for
efficiency’s sake, some will have to shut. But again, why St Joseph’s?
“It’s something I find very hard to fathom,” says Maguire. “Yes, we’re
selective, but that’s not why we’re good. There are selective schools in
this country who are not doing so well. It’s about what you do with the kids
once you get them. This school isn’t a good school because it’s Catholic or
it’s selective. It’s a good school because we know every child and we love
them and care for them and we challenge them.”
Maguire explains that unlike most grammar schools, St Joseph’s does not simply
take the brightest pupils. Indeed, Ofsted does not even class St Joseph’s as
“a grammar”. It does have an entrance test, but it is one that 75% of
applicants pass. After that, entrance is determined by “faith criteria”,
whereby the child’s parents are asked to fill out a form, co-authored by
their relevant “religious leader”, on how righteous their 11-year-old is.
About 80 students in every year are Catholic and the remaining 30-40 are
from a variety of other faiths. In the sixth form, St Joseph’s takes another
50-70 pupils from nearby city state schools.
“There are many very bright children who do not get into St Joseph’s,” says
Maguire. “We’ve built strong links in the community – my best English
teacher now works two days a week in other city schools. And children from
those schools come here for revision classes, too.
“Stoke has so many problems. It is right at the top of the league tables for
teenage pregnancies and Neets [young people not in education, employment or
training], and right at the bottom for education. We are one of the things
that Stoke can be really proud of. Why would you want us to go to the wall?”
St Joseph’s is not quite at the wall yet. Rowney insists that although the
closure of all the schools and the reopening of new secondaries is the
“favoured” option, there are three others that would keep St Joseph’s open.
But if the favoured option does come to pass when the final decision is made
in February, you can be sure there will be little noise from Westminster.
Labour’s Department for Children says it will keep out of local authority
decisions. But it has made it clear that it wishes to make it easier for
parents to shut grammar schools.
Apart from restructuring plans, such as the one Stoke-on-Trent is proposing,
the only way to shut a selective school now is by parental ballot. The
ballot requires 10 parents to trigger a petition and then 20% of parents in
the affected area to sign it. Since this law was passed in 1998, only one
ballot has come to fruition – and it failed to close the selective school.
Labour wishes to make the system simpler by shortening the ballot process and,
possibly, by allowing petitioning parents access to the contact details of
other parents in the area. “It is absolutely right,” said Jim Knight, the
schools minister, last month, “that we keep the parental ballot arrangements
under review. We are firmly committed to giving local parents the right to
abolish selection at existing grammar schools.”
The modernising Conservative front bench might now know where it stands on
this issue, but the party as a whole continues to twist its knickers on
grammar schools. When David Willetts, then shadow education spokesman, said
the 11-plus exam “entrenches advantage” he set off a backlash among
backbenchers, who consider the maintenance of grammar schools a touchstone
Conservative issue.
They had, perhaps, forgotten that Margaret Thatcher and John Major failed to
use their 18 years to revive the 11-plus.
David Cameron considers the row over grammar schools to be the “shallow end”
of the education debate – and has said he admires Labour’s academies
programme. He has, however, indicated that he will shut no grammar schools.
So don’t expect a raging debate at next week’s prime minister’s questions
about St Joseph’s College.
“The Tories just can’t get involved,” says Sam Freedman, of the Policy
Exchange think tank. “It doesn’t work for them politically. I can’t see them
intervening. As for Labour, that’s tricky. There may be some backbenchers
who are ideologically opposed to a private company restructuring a local
authority’s schools and who may feel strongly enough that they wish to fight
to save this one school. But then again, it’s a grammar school. They’re
between a rock and a hard place.”
The parents and pupils of St Joseph’s are already making a noise. The website
of the local Sentinel newspaper, which broke the story last Monday, has been
bombarded with comments from parents and old pupils. Facebook and MySpace
sites have been set up to organise support. A petition on the Downing Street
website already has hundreds of names. Why not add your own?
To sign the petition on the Downing Street website, go to tinyurl.com/2he7kt
Stoke City Council now want to close the best non-faith school in the city - Trentham High School. There has been a major transformation at the school in the last 18 months which the council is choosing to ignore. The projected gcse results for June 2008 will make it the second best school in the city. The Council has ignored a 4000 signature petition to keep the school open and hundreds of emails stating parents concerns. I thought the BSF programme was supposed to offer more choice for parents not take my preferred choice away
Richard Whitby, Stoke on Trent,
Having been to a meeting led by Ged Rowney, I was horrified when I was told that not only is he director of Children and young peoples services, but he is also on the payroll of SERCO. Is this a conflict of interest I wonder? Furthermore, I have investigated the figures being quoted by Mr Rowney, and have found that the figures he is publishing in his rather nice glossy brochure, do not actually tally with any he uses at his presentation to parents, or more importantly with those published in the actual Budget reports from Stoke on Trent City Council. Therefore the figure of 23% under capacity is a fabrication as it is not grounded in figures that can be confirmed. If this is a fabrication, what else do we have to worry about when he and his team are telling us the "facts". My son attends a school of excellence for special needs at ABBEY HILL. It scores top marks with OFSTED. If its not broken, why does Mr Rowney think a new building can make it better?
David Whitefield, STOKE-ON-TRENT,
SERCO are obviously trying to be radical and have impressed a failing Council and Director with a wheeze that sounds plausible - start with a blank sheet of paper and go for a transformational agenda! Those of us with some experience and who can smell hot air from below know better - if this is their idea of a step change they better not step near our door for work - we want to keep our good schools and help those with challenges raise their game. This strategy is basically like slinging bad food and good food in one pot and hoping you get something that is not too disgusting - would you pay a chef like that top consultant fees?
James Langley, Birmingham, UK
I admire St Joseph's greatly and as a parent of young children myself would very much like my children to attend the school. However, I am curious to know how many students attending the school actually live in Stoke on Trent and how many live outside of Stoke on Trent. It occurs to me that with Stoke on Trent LEA doing so badly surely a school that enjoys such great success would be a wonderful blessing to the young people of Stoke but I think it actually benefits many pupils from out of the area with more educationally astute parents. It saddens me when pupils are coming from as far afield as Market Drayton to attend the school while young people from Stoke fail to gain entry. Personally, I feel that catchment area ought to be part of the entry criteria. I accept that many people will probably disagree with me and I have to say that I would like to think this change could be achieved without closing the school and forcing the school's leadership team to reapply for their jobs
Mel, Hanley, Stoke on Trent,
As a past pupil of St.Joseph's College and now a piano teacher at the school I was shocked to be ambushed by two sixth-formers with frustrated expressions and clutching petition papers on my way to the office the other day. They recounted to me the saga that has been unfolding the last couple of weeks as I listened in silence and with a bemused expression. My initial reaction was one of shock and of great sadness at the possible closure of an institution that has meant so much to me and holds many great memories, let alone the excellent education I received in its classrooms.
However, this initial wave of nostalgia was soon superseded by a feeling of great pride that a feel for the place and its pupils, for the two sixth-formers that waylaid me, for my pupils who greeted me that day with: "Well...have you heard" and for its staff whom, in my opinion, are second to none. I haven't the room to rant as much as I would like but I implore you to do everything you can to help stop this
James Wilson-Rhead, Stoke-On-Trent/Birmingham,
I'm also a concerned for mer pupil of St Josephs. I'm now working in school in Newham, East London where we have just been awarded outstanding by Ofsted and I owe my experiences at St Josephs much for my own part in that. Granted something needs to be done about education standards in Stoke and those measures may very well need to be profound but surely such a dependably successful school should be valued and protected! I'm proud to have grown up in Stoke and I know there's people there with the leadership and vision to make a good strategy that works for Stoke but a good manager should never "sack" the most successful worker he'd look for ways to share that employee's good practice. Might it not be better to employee something more like this approach here as well?
Stephen Richards, London,
This is simply the best school (within top 200 nationally) and yet within the confines of the worst performing LEA in the country. This school must survive and its existing form.
We as parents and former pupils should be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2007 not engaged in an all out coalition of parents, current students, local populace, councillors and local MPs to use all our energies to prevent the destruction of this flagship school within Stoke on Trent..
The motto of the school is 'Fideliter et Fortiter' and this is being sorely tested but my family and I remain faithful and strong.
I urge any readers to sign the petition to No 10 attached to the article.
Steve Turner, Stone, Staffordshire, England
Re: Eric Campbell's opinion: Hmmm, the Nations education and it's ability to compete on the World stage - or traffic lights. Let me see. Sorry Eric, I think you have lost the plot on this one. Foolish man.
Martin Rouen, Hook, UK
I am a concerned former pupil of St. Joseph's College in Stoke-On-Trent, who currently has sisters at (and hoping to go to) the school. Now a Medical Student at Bristol University, I am horrified that Stoke may be losing the character and framework of such a fantastic school that provides the best educational, creative and sporting opportunities in the city.
It provides the most amazing all round education, among the best nationally, and I achieved 5A's at A-level together with 10A*'s at GCSE. I would not have achieved such results at any other school in the area, without the commitment of the staff and environment where achievement and the principle of excelling in all areas is so prevalent and accepted. This makes St. Joseph’s a special and unique place, it is an amazing community.
The school website, for results etc, is www.sjc.staffs.sch.uk. Please sign our petition, and visit www.sjc.staffs.sch.uk
Faithful and strong!
Nicholas Deakin, Newcastle-under-Lyme / Bristol, England
Eric must you be so unpleasant.
This is happening all over the country very quietly.
In an attempt to improve failing schools good ones are being closed. Then a very large schoold is created. The hope is to drive up standards but such is rarely achieved.
I have no children. I am not involved in education. I do however think it is important for us to know what is going on.
elizabeth , harrogate, uk
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