Agenda item

(1)     The School Organisation Advisory Board, at its meeting on 17 October 2007, supported a proposal to undertake public consultation on changing the designated age range of Tunbridge Wells Community High School, from the current 11-19, to 11-16 years of age.  Tunbridge Wells Community High School was currently designated as a school for students aged 11-19 years, but the school’s Sixth Form was suspended from September 2005 on grounds of viability.  School Organisation Regulations did not, however, provide for temporary changes to the age range of a school.  The proposal had, therefore, been brought forward to regularise the position and to bring it into line with legislative requirements.

(2)     Members agreed to a more limited public consultation exercise than was normal practice within the county when the outcome of a proposal would normally lead to a change in provision for pupils.  In this case, the change would be in formal designation only.  Appendix 1 of the report comprised the consultation letter distributed to all key stakeholders on 2 November 2007.  The report summarised the outcome of the consultation process.

(3)     Tunbridge Wells Community High School was a small non-selective secondary school located to the east of Tunbridge Wells.  The roll was 436 (January 2007 pupil census) and was forecast to remain relatively constant over the next few years.  It did not have sixth form students currently on roll, and had not done so since the sixth form arrangements were suspended from September 2005.  Post 16 students from Tunbridge Wells High had been successfully transferring to alternative courses.

(4)     By 2003/04 the number of students in the Sixth Form had fallen to 30.  The only way sixth form provision could continue would have been by using a cross-subsidy using formula funding intended for pupils at Key Stages 3 and 4.  This was not considered justifiable.  In order to secure the school’s budget, governors were obliged to suspend the operation of the Sixth Form with effect from September 2005.

(5)     The school believed it had benefited from the suspension of the Sixth Form

in as much as skilled teachers, who previously taught at 16+, had been re-deployed to Key Stage 3 and 4 classes.  This had contributed to an upward trajectory in results at the end of Key Stage 4 and to an outstanding performance as indicated by Contextual Value Added, validated by Ofsted in February 2005 and again in a ‘themed inspection’ of science provision, in December 2006.  Suspension of the school sixth form was necessary and there had been real and significant ways in which the school had made a virtue of that necessity.

(6)     The proposal would consolidate the already established partnership for post 16 progression routes with West Kent College and other local sixth forms.  A closer working relationship with nearby West Kent College had been developed, so that all Tunbridge Wells High students had ready access to the vast range of post-16 opportunities at the College.

(7)     Data from Connexions showed that a higher than ever percentage of Tunbridge Wells High students were progressing at 16+ into education or employment with training.  As collaboration continued to develop between partner institutions in the area, this trend of developing the right pathways for students would continue.

(8)     There was no prescribed consultation process that must be followed in order to secure a change of age status for a school.  However, guidance from the DCSF suggested that it was good practice to seek the views of all stakeholders likely to be affected by the proposal.  Accordingly, the school wrote to all appropriate stakeholders on 2 November 2007.  57 responses were received, of which 52 were in favour, and 5 were against the proposal.

(9)     The Governing Body of the school, having taken the decision to suspend the Sixth Form arrangements in 2005, was fully supportive of the proposal to formally re-designate the age range of students at the school.  The Local Member, Mr K Lynes, and the Tunbridge Wells Cluster Board fully supported the proposal.

(10)   The Learning and Skills Council for Kent and Medway had been fully involved in developing partnership arrangements to secure progression routes for post-16 students from Tunbridge Wells High, and so fully supported the proposal; as did the Area Education Officer.

(11)   There were no capital resource implications, and as the school currently did not make use of its designation to educate sixth form students there were no revenue implications.  No staff were currently employed in connection with the school’s designation to educate sixth form students.  Therefore, no changes to staffing arrangements were envisaged by the proposal.

(12)   The Advisory Board agreed to the issuing of a public notice to change the designated age range of Tunbridge Wells High School from 11-19, to 11-16 years only, in accordance with the timescale set out in the report.