Growing concern at rise of the 'Titan' schools

IF proposals for new buildings at Ilkley Grammar are given the go-ahead, the 400-year-old school will see the number of pupils grow by 350 to almost 2,000 – making it the second largest state secondary in West Yorkshire.

Some parents are concerned that their children will feel lost in a larger school and that Ilkley is too small to warrant a "mega comprehensive" However both the school and Bradford Council argue that they are simply meeting the demand for places from the local area.

The plans to build a new school on green belt land have been developed as part of Bradford's Building Schools for the Future programme and a business case is now being considered by the Government.

Deputy head teacher Adam Daly said: "Year on year we have additional students that want to come. We're catering for the local community, we're not pulling in students from all over the shop."

Bradford Council's cabinet member for children and young people, Michael Kelly, said the lack of space and facilities on the existing site meant sixth-form students were having to be taught in other schools.

But some parents are questioning the need for such a large school and why it has to be developed on the green belt.

Claudia Rickard, whose home overlooks the field where the new school is planned, said: "What makes a good school is leadership and the teachers; we don't need a spanking new school to make a good school. It's too big as it is."

Andy Stuart added: "A school

of this size is not the answer. It will be Wharfedale mega- comprehensive. If we need to educate the children from the surrounding area, then build smaller schools closer to where they are needed."

Rising birth rates and new legislation requiring children to stay in education or training until the age of 18 are adding to the pressure for school places.

The number of so-called

"titan" schools with more than 2,000 pupils has more than quadrupled over the last decade.

According to statistics from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Britain now has 516 schools with more than 1,500 pupils.

And as the government's Building Schools for the Future programme continues, the number of "super-sized" schools is set to soar.

Bingley Grammar School

plans to grow to 2,050 while Thornton Grammar School,

near Bradford, could have 2,150 pupils on its roll. Some schools in London have as many as

3,000 pupils.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) claims there is a direct link between school size and behaviour and warns against the trend for huge schools. In a survey last year more than half of teachers said a large school affected the ability of pupils to forge relationships with staff. Nansi Ellis, head of Education, Policy and Research at the ATL said: "The concerns we have are around how easy it is for pupils to be anonymous in a big school."

Researchers suggests that the optimum size for a secondary school is less than 1,500 pupils.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the centre for education and employment research at Buckingham University said: "The absolutely key thing about education is that each child feels valued as

an individual person. In

essence you have to remember that many of our most successful schools have only around 800 pupils. The head teacher then knows each child individually."

However, he said that if a school is well organised

and divided into units of

600 pupils or fewer, the

overall size may not be such

an issue.

Prof Smithers added: "Good leadership is more challenging in a larger school, but the way to deal with it is to split the school into units, each with their own leader."

Ilkley Grammar School says it is considering such an idea with a college-type "school within school" model.

Mr Daly said: "The model is based on the extended family idea. It provides a greater sense of identity and belonging."