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Thoughts for Residents of Finchampstead and BarkhamA new "state of the art" co-educational school in the south of the region sounds very attractive for local residents. We are not against a new school being built, and we are not attempting to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt, But having read the "consultation" document cover to cover do you know the answers to the following questions? 1. Where is the school actually going to be built?
2. What will the school bring with it? Rampant housing development? Additional housing brings with it the need for local schooling, likewise a local school gives justification for addition housing development. Is this vision financially viable simply because a housing developer is building the school at zero or reduced cost in exchange for the rights to build a new housing development now or in the future?
3. What if you want your children to attend the Holt, Forest or St Crispins? The vision states that the catchment areas in Wokingham will change, but fails to say how. However, if the Emmbrook area loses a school, the new catchment area for Emmbrook is very likely to include St Crispins, The Holt and Forest. Ultimately children from Emmbrook will NOT attend the new school in the south otherwise this defeats the "bussing" argument. Since the Holt, Forest and St Crispins are already more than full, it is clear that residents in the south will no longer be in the catchment area for these schools. So if you live in the south of the region your choice will now be a "state of the art new school in south of the region" full stop. Tough if you fancied a single sex education for your child!
4. If the school is too far away to walk to will free buses be provided? Pupils who attend their catchment secondary school which is more than 3 miles away benefit from free bus travel. Pupils who attend a non-catchment school of their own choosing pay for the bus regardless of distance as do any pupils travelling less than 3 miles. So unless you know exactly where the school is going to be you run the risk of paying for the school bus or driving your children to school
5. Will the roads to the new school be suitable and safe? Most of the southern areas large enough to accommodate a new school are accessed via rural country lanes. Schools require safe access, with lighting, footpaths and cycle ways.
6. What will the impact to local traffic be? A new "state of the art" school is likely to be a very attractive proposition for parents from all over the region. What will the effect be on local traffic. Are the roads in the region designed to cope with this additional traffic?
Unless you are 100% happy with the answers to the above questions you should urgently request clarification from the council during the consultation period. Local district councillors for the Barkham wardCouncillor Pam Stubbs (Conservative) Email:- pamela.stubbs@wokingham.gov.uk Full contact details can be found here The views of Councillor Pam Stubbs on this matter:- VIEWS REQUESTED 10/07/2005 Local district councillors for the Finchampstead North wardCouncillor Tim Charlesworth (Conservative) Email:- tim@timcharlesworth.com Full contact details can be found here The views of Councillor Tim Charlesworth on this matter:- Comments requested 10/07/2005 replies supplied 11/07/2005 Councillor Charlesworth supplied the following comments very quickly, it is our workload which has delayed publication I am happy to comment as best I can on the questions that you have asked: 1. I can't comment on the location that any school may finally be in as no final decision has been made on this question. 2. No deal has been done with any developers. The idea of building a school to the south of Wokingham is to serve the population that is already there, not to serve a 'future build' population 3. The potential relocation of Emmbrook would not lead to a change in the rules for parents applying for secondary school places. Parents will still be free to express preferences for whichever school they wish, be that a co-educational or single-sex education. As now, Wokingham is unlikely to be able to guarantee places at single-sex education schools in the future. I am confident that parents in Finchampstead North will not find it any more difficult than now to get places at Holt, Forest or St Crispins, as a result of these proposals. 4. There is no proposal to change the current rules (which are set down in the 1944 Education Act) for transport to and from secondary schools 5. Obviously the council will not put children or parents at risk, and ensuring that there is safe access to any potential new school would be part of any project to build such a school. 6. I believe that any project to put a school south of Wokingham will have an overall effect of reducing traffic in the area. This is pure common sense. If you put a school near to where people live, then less miles will be travelled by pupils and their parents in getting to that school. We currently transfer hundreds of pupils every day from south of Wokingham into Wokingham town. Anyone who has ever tried to approach Wokingham from the south during this daily migration will be familiar with the effect that it has on both the environment and congestion.
Councillor Rob Stanton (Conservative) Email:- rob.stanton@wokingham.gov.uk Full contact details can be found here The views of Councillor Rob Stanton on this matter:- VIEWS REQUESTED 10/07/2005
Local district councillors for the Finchampstead South wardCouncillor Gerald A Cockroft (Conservative) Email:- gerald.cockroft@wokingham.gov.uk Full contact details can be found here The views of Councillor Gerald A Cockroft on this matter:- VIEWS REQUESTED 10/07/2005
Councillor Simon Weeks (Conservative) Email:- simon.weeks@wokingham.gov.uk Full contact details can be found here The views of Councillor Simon Weeks on this matter:- VIEWS REQUESTED 10/07/2005 |
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We can be contacted via emmbrookrelocation@hotmail.co.uk |
