Page 18 - link magazine

18 The Link Magazine • May 2006
Frustration at River View shut out

A parent who attended the open evening at the end of March to see plans and meet the headteacher of River View Community School in Priory
Vale expressed anger that her son will not have the opportunity to go there.
In 2003 Swindon Council took Aaron, who is in Year 6 atCatherine makes the bus trip to Farmors. start Year 7 in 2007, so it is appeal-
the decision to open the school in Wayte Primary, will not go to a However parents of younger ing that he could be in the first
Priory Vale to Year 7 children from secondary school close to her children are looking forward to intake at River View. But I'd like to
2007, not 2006 as parents cam- home. "We moved in 2001 having the new school. Sona Chaturvedi know more about the curriculum
paigned for. The council argued been told by Swindon Council that from Taw Hill said, "my son will before making a decision."
that the cost of opening the school the school would be ready for 2003.
Thinking about applying to River View for September 2007, Harvey Midwinter
was too great to cater for a smaller Even with a three year margin of and Vhruv Chaturvedi of St Francis Primary with Lauren Morgan and Samantha
number of children than origina lly error the council still got it wrong. psHe who attend Grcennw(Oo<<' Primary
expected - due to changes in house The September 2006 intake will be
types, house completion rates and scattered to different schools."
P._.
a low birth rate. River View governor
Some 130 children Helen Miah expressed
could have attended sympathy for parents in ;, *'
River View this Septem- a similar position. She w^
ber but will now be go- s wanted her son Joshim
ing to schools further to attend the school but
p
afield. ^, the failure of the cou - ! .,,,.—
Parent Hilary Stubbs cil's first bid for PFI
from Abbey Meads, funding to build the
right, said she was still s` school meant a delay in
angry that her son, the project. He now

£1 m to set up arts project at Learning Campus
A Swindon arts scheme has been given a £lmillion cash boost to create projects for young people across Swindon and will set up a base at
River View Community School.
Artsmad (Arts Make a Differ- The grant from the Govern- young people in schools and youth A full Artsmad programme
ence) will run artist-led workshops ment's'Invest To Save' budget will projects. should be in place by next April, to
for youngsters and work on also fund, from September, a mo- Artsmad is a partnership be- include school based workshops
projects for all the schools on the bile unit equipped for new media tween Swindon Council and arts on the campus, after-school activi-
Learning Campus at Priory Vale. and digital arts run by Swindon and educational bodies including ties and community workshops
The focus will be on new media, based Mobile Media to take op- Sixth Sense Theatre Company, who run by groups like Sixth Sense and
digital and music technology. portunities out across the town to produce theatre for young audi- Swindon Dance.
ences. The company will have a Cabinet Member for Children's
period of residency at River View Services Garry Perkins, said,
Community School and will pro- "Artsmad's scheme will use the
duce and develop a major regional arts to encourage young people to
theatre tour from their work with develop a sense of ownership and
young people. pride in their community."
Families lose out in secondary
school places lottery
Parents of North Swindon pupils who applied for places at high
performing Farmors School in Fairford in neighbouring Gloucester-
shire have been devastated to learn recently that there is no room and
their children have been offered places at Swindon Council's bottom
of the league school, Headlands.
For parents unhappy with their place — there are no guarantees."
designated school in Swindon, Many of those who gambled on
Farmors had become an attractive a place at Farmors also missed out
option. In 2001 a group of parents on their second choice school,
chose to bus 40 children to the Warneford in Highworth, which
Fairford school rather than send tops the league in Swindon.
them to Hreod and this trend has Under the co-ordinated appli-
continued, with 150 North Swin- cations scheme, applicants can se-
don pupils now making the trip to lect up to three schools and state
Fairford each day. their order of preference. Warne-
Farmors' headteacher Anne ford places were all taken by those
Stokes said there had been 250 who made it their first choice.
applications for 174 places. "We The LEA admissions guide ad-
have the same number of places vises weighing up the odds of get-
but it is possible there have been ting into a school before complet-
more applications from Cirences- ing the application form. It sug-
ter and areas closer to the school." gests considering whether you are
She added that a dip in the num- in the catchment area and whether
bers fromlocalprimariestwoyears the school was oversubscribed in
ago treed up more places for out of the previous year.
area children and that this may Statistics for applications and
have led to higher parental expec- admissions can be found in the
tations. However, she stressed, council's printed guide or at:
"parents can never be assured of a www.swindoneducation.org.uk