Leader: Lesson for council neighbours

Published 2 Sep 2011 09:30 3 Comments

THIS week's victory for children living in Reading who would have been denied a place at their nearest secondary school over the boundary in Wokingham borough is a victory for common sense.

The idea that someone living just a stone's throw from Maiden Erlegh, who can see the popular secondary from their house, could lose out to someone living six times further away in the opposite direction was simply ludicrous.

But the victory must not be allowed to mask the need for continued investment in education on both sides of the border.

A new Reading secondary school coupled with investment in Bulmershe could make cross-border disputes such as this a thing of the past.

It is a sad situation when Government ministers have to step in because neighbouring councils are so incapable of working together to find a workable solution - especially on an issue so sensitive and important as the education of our children. Our GCSE results table on page 11 shows that Bulmershe had a pass rate of 98.6% this summer and Maiden Erlegh 99.7%.

Perhaps the middle ground we should be looking for lies between the old county council set-up and our newer system, which clearly divides people living just streets apart.

Tweet

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 01 Sep 11

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

• 

  Earley Mum
  Unregistered User
  Sep 3, 09:21
  Report comment

  Good news for common sense. All those within close proximity to the school (north, south, east and west) will have the same, fair chance of gaining a place at the school. However, we must remember that this is children's education we're talking about not one parent versus another. I hope the two authorities will see this as an opportunity to work together to improve the perception of Bulmershe and invest in it. I also hope that Rob Wilson takes the opportunity to talk with his constituents on both sides of the borough boundary and properly engage with his potential scholars to create an exciting and much needed secondary school in the area. Rob: you've seen how much passion we all have for our children’s education, engage us! We don't like being sidelined.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 30     No 0

• 

  Tinkerbell
  Unregistered User
  Sep 3, 10:56
  Report comment

  "But the victory must not be allowed to mask the need for continued investment in education on both sides of the border."
  
  Couldn't have put it better myself. Let's not forgot. Not all Reading children who would have previously got a place at ME will do so now, and there are those across the border who will still not get into ME. Over the coming years the pressure on school places is going to increase due to increasing birthrates and extra housing. Let's put the last year behind us and move on together to improve everyone's lot.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 31     No 0

• 

  Nigel Garage
  Unregistered User
  Sep 6, 15:22
  Report comment

  @Tinkerbell: We can thank the immigrant population for the rising birth rates. The birth rate among the native British population has actually been falling to what would be ecologically sustainable levels however it has been overcompensated for by the high birth rate among immigrants.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 37     No 4

• 

  ******
  Jan 22, 16:18
  Report comment

  This comment has been removed by a moderator

Post a comment

Your Comment:

Registered users log in here

Username or email

Password

If you are registered with us, you can login here. If you are not registered, do so now.
Once logged in you wont have to complete word verification each time you post.

Prefer not to register?

Screen Name *required

Email (not displayed) *required

Usernames must be 4 - 20 characters. Registration only takes a few minutes. Registered users can also take part in competitions and other features of the site.

Word Verification:
Enter the text as shown.

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Opinion archives.

Follow @rdgchronicle