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Now it's a school lottery for infants in Brighton and Hove

10:30pm Thursday 7th May 2009 in News By Andy Chiles

Children as young as three are now being put through a lottery for school places in Brighton and Hove.

Some are being sent to schools two miles from their homes and communities after losing out in the process.

In several cases the youngsters would have to take two buses each way on a journey of around 45 minutes.

The situation has been revealed by devastated parents who learned of their children's fates when Brighton and Hove City Council sent out its primary school allocation letters this week.

The council has been involved in high profile rows over its lottery for secondary school places for the past three years but this is the first time the issue has flared for younger children.

Lotteries have now been introduced as a final decider for entry into two popular Catholic primary schools, causing knock-on effects across the city.

The situation has prompted calls for urgent action to increase capacity in areas of the city where there are no longer enough school places for children living nearby.

Rachel Fryer, the Green party education spokeswoman on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "Clearly it is ridiculous that children, whatever their faith, are having to travel so far across the city, particularly at this age. This needs to be looked at urgently."

The council said it had extended school places in the central Hove area and was looking at further options to meet the demand.

Thousands of parents received allocation letters this week.

While the majority successfully won places at one of the preferred schools there were some deeply disappointed.

Pamela McKellar, from Wilbury Villas, Hove, had hoped her three-year-old Grace would get a place at Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary, within sight of their home.

She missed out in the lottery, which was run by the school because it was oversubscribed by Catholic children from its linked churches.

To compound the disappointment Grace was also denied a place at either of the family's next two nearest schools because they were full, partly through other children being turned away by Cottesmore.

As a result she has been allocated a place at Fairlight Primary, two miles away in St Leonard's Road, Brighton.

Mrs McKellar said: "It just seems crazy. There is a massive shortage of primary school places in Hove and Grace’s allocated school is miles from where we live."

Meanwhile hundreds more parents missed out on their first choice school under the current walking distance rules, with some claiming wealthy families have monopolised places by moving close to the most popular schools.

Have you been affected? Call Andy Chiles on 01273 544548 or tell us below.

Comments(31)

BN1 says...
10:37pm Thu 7 May 09

Bibble doesn't stand a chance with the locals.

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Lawson-land says...
11:14pm Thu 7 May 09

Is she a Catholic then? These are 'pre school' places: nursery, then reception. None of which are a legal requirement before starting first / primary school education. The starting age of formal education is 5 years (various other systems ie Steiner 7 years}. If this lady was religious / a Catholic she would know this as Cottesmore is for those who keep this the faith. (My kids go to a central Brighton C of E school and believe me it isn't worth the the effort - it is cr**p and it it is not under local government control...)!

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BN1 says...
11:31pm Thu 7 May 09

"Is she a Catholic then?"

She's everything we expected.

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getreal1 says...
11:45pm Thu 7 May 09

Lawson-land wrote:
Is she a Catholic then? These are 'pre school' places: nursery, then reception. None of which are a legal requirement before starting first / primary school education. The starting age of formal education is 5 years (various other systems ie Steiner 7 years}. If this lady was religious / a Catholic she would know this as Cottesmore is for those who keep this the faith. (My kids go to a central Brighton C of E school and believe me it isn't worth the the effort - it is cr**p and it it is not under local government control...)!
Yes - fortunately all of the other faith schools perform better than St Barts.

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BN1 says...
12:23am Fri 8 May 09

She's a catholic AND an anachrist, bunking off school for the latest fight against the police down the pier. I had to fetch her from thr police staion - naughty bibble - she's only 3 and thats sayign something.

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On_the_Level says...
8:10am Fri 8 May 09

It's about time the faith schools were barred from 'cherry picking' the less troublesome pupils.

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Cry Me A River says...
10:17am Fri 8 May 09

Green Party spokesman? What, no-one worthwhile was available?

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Technophobe says...
12:08pm Fri 8 May 09

Lawson-land wrote:
Is she a Catholic then? These are 'pre school' places: nursery, then reception. None of which are a legal requirement before starting first / primary school education. The starting age of formal education is 5 years (various other systems ie Steiner 7 years}. If this lady was religious / a Catholic she would know this as Cottesmore is for those who keep this the faith. (My kids go to a central Brighton C of E school and believe me it isn't worth the the effort - it is cr**p and it it is not under local government control...)!
Wrong. The starting age for formal education is the September after the child turns 4, so it's quite possible for a child of 3 to be in the primary school allocation, if their birthday is between now and the end of August.

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getreal1 says...
12:45pm Fri 8 May 09

The more troublesome pupils tend not to have heard of God, and as a consequence find it harder to get in.

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Sweepster says...
3:51pm Fri 8 May 09

what a load of fuss.

Change the rules; you have to go to the school nearest your home. Sorted.

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welly2 says...
4:36pm Fri 8 May 09

Not really, Fairlight is the closest school to my home and despite my trying to get him into another my son is being sent there. It's the worst infant school in Brighton which is why it has space for all these children. That's the problem that should be addressed. All schools should provide a good start for our children. The fact that they don't is what leads to this ridiculous situation. Oh, and if you think it's bad elsewhere in the city, have a look at Hanover. Elm Grove Primary is so oversubscribed that the furthest away anyone got in on distance is 415 metres! And people are starting to base their choices on where they think they'll get in, not where they want to go. I wanted to put down Queens Park which is slightly further away than any of my actual choices but still only 1300 metres (by council measures) but I knew it had been massively oversubscribed in previous years so didn't bother. This year, my son would have got in because everyone else thought the same. The whole situation is becoming absurd.

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Kerry Burnett says...
4:47pm Fri 8 May 09

I can certainly sympathise with all parents who have fallen foul of the primary schools lottery this year as I was in exactly the same boat a year ago. When I opened the letter to find my daughter hadn’t got into my preferred schools I was devastated; especially as we would have to walk past our first choice to get to the school she was given, Fairlgiht Primary. I even had a letter published in the Argus last year I was so upset about the whole system.

However, when I visited Fairlight I found a school so more impressive from the inside than it would appear from the outside building and any Ofsted report you might read. All the staff I met showed an incredible passion and all the children were happy and busily enjoying what they were doing. It was all it took to make up my mind that Fairlight wasn’t the bad option I first thought it to be.

A new Head Teacher joined last September and has made an amazing difference to what was already a school on the up. My daughter loves being there and has come on leaps and bounds academically and personally since she started. I wasn’t the only parent in this situation last year and I am pleased to say that all the others are delighted with Fairlight too; in fact it was first choice this September for the younger child of one such parent.

I have now become a Parent Governor and things are just as good behind the scenes; I am confident that it won’t be long before Fairlight is oversubscribed and has to turn children away.

What I would say to Pamela McKellar is that she couldn’t have been given a better ‘non choice’ school than Fairlight Primary even if it isn’t conveniently located. Please come and see the school for yourself and find out what a hidden gem it is – your daughter will thank you for it.

The system certainly needs looking at but in the meantime some of you might be lucky enough to find light at the end of the tunnel – please take time to go and visit the school you’ve been given before making rash assumptions like I did.

Kerry Burnett
Fairlight Parent Governor and mother of Daisy in Fairlight reception

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welly2 says...
4:58pm Fri 8 May 09

Sorry Kerry, I live near Fairlight and see it every day. I also know parents whose children attend the school and I don't share your rosy outlook. It isn't a good school and a new head isn't going to make the problems it suffers go away in less than a year. My child isn't a guinea pig. He will only start school once and learn the behaviours and skills that he needs for later schooling and life once. He needs the best school available now not in a year or two when it will be too late.

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Txa says...
5:27pm Fri 8 May 09

The lottery system is the wrong way to go. When in the past we moved to a different area our children moved to the closer school, they benefit of walking to the nearer school(I'm convinced that this alone improved their health and their school attendances IMO), having friends in the same area and walking with them to school, this creates a sense of safety and community. Schools should have a provision of flexible spaces to accommodate all children in their area, and more important to concentrate in improving the education standards.

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Ian Edmond says...
5:40pm Fri 8 May 09

It is a national scandal that schools funded by local and national taxation can select pupils based on the superstitious beliefs of their parents. We have removed selection by examination and wealth, so this remaining discrimination is bizarre. It is also doing a considerable disservice to young children to label them as "Catholic", "Christian", "Muslim", or indeed any religion. They are children - on what basis can they be said to have made an informed choice about such issues? The education system in this country supports this appalling indoctrination of innocent minds.

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TheInsider says...
6:16pm Fri 8 May 09

Ian...selection (12 plus) still exists in the UK in many counties and state grammar schools provide some of the most successful exam results in the country, equal to some top private schools.
Selective faith schools also have higher educational standards than ordinary state schools which is why some parents suddenly find their faith when they pop kids out and realise all the other schools are utter crap. They actually don't care if it's a Catholic of CofE school, they just don't want their kids going to the others.
I would bring back selection for the whole of the UK and even introduce it for primary education instead of a lottery system.
Therefore, parents who have bothered to start their children's education off at home get the best schools.
Those who can't even be bothered to toilet train their kids or give them basic reading skills before they enter a classroom should be put in some sort of workhouse environment.


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RoscoPColtrane says...
6:40pm Fri 8 May 09

getreal1 wrote:
The more troublesome pupils tend not to have heard of God, and as a consequence find it harder to get in.
I can't work out whether getreal1's comment is a joke or just blinkered, boneheaded stupidity. I hope it's the former...

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yorkie44 says...
6:42pm Fri 8 May 09

In the late 40's nobody worried about the performance of schools because they were all GOOD. Is this progress? Children went to the nearest school and were not expected to travel miles to a school allocated by the council!!!

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RoscoPColtrane says...
6:45pm Fri 8 May 09

Ian Edmond wrote:
It is a national scandal that schools funded by local and national taxation can select pupils based on the superstitious beliefs of their parents. We have removed selection by examination and wealth, so this remaining discrimination is bizarre. It is also doing a considerable disservice to young children to label them as "Catholic", "Christian", "Muslim", or indeed any religion. They are children - on what basis can they be said to have made an informed choice about such issues? The education system in this country supports this appalling indoctrination of innocent minds.
Dead right. As Richard Dawkins consistently points out, there are no Chistian Children, Muslim Children etc. Just children. We need to ensure they are protected from brainwashing until they are mature enough to make up their own minds whether to believe in superstitions or not.

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davyboy says...
7:56pm Fri 8 May 09

Sweepster wrote:
what a load of fuss.

Change the rules; you have to go to the school nearest your home. Sorted.
spot on comment. 'simples'. now i am glad we moved away, brighton and hove council couldn't run a bath without a lottery.

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davyboy says...
7:57pm Fri 8 May 09

Sweepster wrote:
what a load of fuss.

Change the rules; you have to go to the school nearest your home. Sorted.
spot on comment. 'simples'. now i am glad we moved away, brighton and hove council couldn't run a bath without a lottery.

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Ian Edmond says...
8:40pm Fri 8 May 09

davyboy wrote:
Sweepster wrote:
what a load of fuss.

Change the rules; you have to go to the school nearest your home. Sorted.
spot on comment. 'simples'. now i am glad we moved away, brighton and hove council couldn't run a bath without a lottery.
It sounds oh-so-simple and reasonable, doesn't it? But when the schools in Brighton and Hove are the sizes they are, in the places they are, it's not possible to do this fairly. Despite the Argus trying to sensationalise this all over again, the secondary lottery is the fairest system for the area.

This situation with primaries is another matter, but remove the ability for schools to select using religious criteria, and bingo! Problem solved.

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nickibuttress says...
8:21am Sat 9 May 09

Its not only faith school affected. My son did not receive any of my 3 choices and I have now found out that 10 places in the school I wanted for my first choice have been given to West Sussex Children, surely places should first be filled by Brighton & Hove children before offering places out of county?

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nickibuttress says...
8:30am Sat 9 May 09

Its not only faith school affected. My son did not receive any of my 3 choices and I have now found out that 10 places in the school I wanted for my first choice have been given to West Sussex Children, surely places should first be filled by Brighton & Hove children before offering places out of county?

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TheInsider says...
8:43am Sat 9 May 09

Parents should band together and hire a teacher and not bother sending them to school.
It would probably be a lot easier than traipsing them across town to a crap school.
Tuition fees shared are actually very reasonable.

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Txa says...
3:11pm Sat 9 May 09

TheInsider wrote:
Parents should band together and hire a teacher and not bother sending them to school. It would probably be a lot easier than traipsing them across town to a crap school. Tuition fees shared are actually very reasonable.
I know in some countries schools running as cooperatives by parents, and they seem to work fine, another alternative to academies perhaps.?

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Jrobson says...
8:19am Sun 10 May 09

While I agree that there needs to be another school in Hove and that ideally everyone would be able to go to their local community school. I have to point out that whenever I have seen one of the mum's featured in this article, the 'poor' mum has been driving a 4 by 4 Porsche beast, and is unlikely to have to catch the two buses the article states. And the little girls daddy owns a number of highly successful restaurants in the city, so if they really don't like their school allocations, they do have another choice, they could free up a place for someone local to Fairlight who would appreciate a place and send their little one to a private school which they could easily afford, and if they are so keen for a community place they can put the name on a waiting list. Argus reporting in this article is at it's worst... Reporter looking for free meal by any chance? And as for those featured, welcome to to the world of so many, a world where you don't always get what you want.

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Txa says...
9:32am Sun 10 May 09

Jrobson, I congratulate those rich parents, first because when they enroll their children in the local state school, it will mean one less vehicle polluting in our town. Second because it mixes children of different backgrounds and not they will
learn from each other.


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Txa says...
9:34am Sun 10 May 09

:o, delete (not) :)

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Kerry Burnett says...
12:30pm Mon 11 May 09

Dear Welly2

I dismiss that I have an overly rosy outlook of Fairlight. I also know parents that have children in the upper years and they are happy. I also know parents who have moved their children from Elm Grove to be at Fairlight as Elm Grove wasn't quite how they expected it to be.

My original comments were about making the best of the opportunity your children have been given even if it wasn't quite the one you hoped for. It is down to the child and the parents to make the best of the situation they find themselves in. Had I sent my daughter to Fairlight telling her it was the worst school for results in the area and that I was so unhappy she was being sent there then her attitude would no doubt be to not try and she wouldn't do well. As it is she loves it there and that's really all I can ask for.

It is a diverse school and it's lower results are partly due to the number of children attending whose first language isn't English; this doesn't mean that a child can't flourish there.

Kerry


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welly2 says...
2:27pm Mon 11 May 09

Kerry

I fully intend to make the best of any opportunities that arise for my son but before I have to settle for something that I don't believe is in his best interests I intend to do everything I can to try and get him the best I can. Having read the Ofsted reports and spoken to other local parents who also have experience of Fairlight, I don't believe it is the best available. My son knows nothing about this. Nor will he. As far as he's concerned he's starting school soon and that's it. He doesn't have any idea where he's going or that I know yet. At the moment he is only 3. He won't be 4 until August and that is one of my concerns about sending him to Fairlight. As a summer born, I'm told that he will take a while to catch up the older children in his year. Add to this the large number of non English speaking and special needs pupils at Fairlight and I am concerned that he will be one of too many requiring extra assistance and attention. I've no doubt that there are some pupils who do flourish at Fairlight and who might flourish wherever they go. I'm just not convinced that my son is one of them and since this is a choice we can only make once, I want to get it right. I think I'd be failing as a parent if I didn't try.

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