Public fails to show demand for girls-only state education

Last year the council’s executive board approved the closure of Parklands Girls High after the 2011 summer term and decided to replace it with an academy despite strong public opposition to the closure proposal.

Parklands was identified for closure as part of Education Leeds’ response to the National Challenge initiative which called for councils to intervene to ensure all schools had 30 per cent of pupils achieving five good GCSEs.

When councillors agreed to back the closure of Parklands it was agreed that public talks would be held on the feasibility of offering single-sex education at another location in the city.

But members of the council’s executive committee will be told public talks have found no real support for the issue.

A report to the executive committee says: “There is evidence of some interest from parents in girls-only provision, but significant emphasis from parents that a good quality of education is the most important factor to them when choosing a school.

“The original consultation did not expose any new or significant demand for girls-only education in Leeds other than that already at Parklands Girls School. Despite the scale of the consultation, the overall attendance at public meetings was low.

“At five of the meetings, there were no members of the public present, which suggested a lack of interest in the subject of girls-only education in those parts of the city.

“Parents across the city who did participate in the consultation emphasised the importance of high quality provision as the main factor influencing their decision when expressing a school preference for their children.”

Members of the committee will be told that it is the local authority’s role to promote choice and diversity, as well as ensuring the sufficiency of places for children and young people.

However members will be told that the most important factor facing education provision in the city is growing birth rate which has left the city needing extra primary school places and at the same meeting on May 18 members will be asked to back plans to expand three schools in the city to provide more primary places.

“The local authority has a duty to balance its limited resources to best meet the needs of the whole city. The need to provide additional primary places to accommodate the higher level of births in the city has not yet begun to impact on the number of young people entering our secondary schools.

“The larger cohorts start to enter secondary schools in two to three years time, and will bring about a need for additional places in due course. At present there are more than sufficient places in our secondary schools,” the report says.

When members meet they will be asked to back plans which would see the significant expansion of one existing primary school in the city and for primary expansion to be delivered through changes to the age range of two existing secondary schools in the city.

Councillors will be asked to agree that notices are published agreeing to changing the age range of Roundhay School Technology and Language College to four-eighteen, and use land off Elmete Lane to provide space for primary pupils.

They will also be asked to look in more detail at changing the age range of Allerton Grange School to four to eighteen and use land next to the school to offer provision for primary school pupils.

Members will also be asked to back a proposal to look in more detail at the expansion of Little London Primary School so it can take 630 pupils, instead of its present capacity of 210 pupils.

It is proposed that land off Cambridge Road is used to provide the extra school places that are needed.