A new school for Sevenoaks? It’s been a while – who can remember the last one?
I’ve always found the UK school system remarkably static. There are
around 24,000 schools but each year very few are closed and only a
handful of new ones open. Schools rarely fail, and aren’t wholly
subject to market forces as parents don’t have the same real choice
that they can exercise in choosing a supermarket or an electricity
supplier. Parents can express a preference but each year thousands
don’t get the school they want.
In Sevenoaks we lose out. Because we have no grammar school, pupils
have to travel to Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells or further away to
Maidstone. This year some have even been allocated to Sittingbourne.
Hours of time are wasted; trains and buses are expensive and not very
green.
The government’s new academies are changing the picture. Building on
the last conservative government’s City Technology Colleges (like Leigh
College near the Dartford Bridge), they are a new type of school,
funded by central government but free to innovate and to decide some of
their own policies.
Crucially they involve a sponsor. Not the local education authority but
somebody independent, a charitable foundation, company or even an
individual businessman. Tonbridge School, for example, is already
sponsoring an academy on Romney Marsh, bringing its expertise as one of
the top independent schools in the country. Now Sevenoaks School is
stepping forward too, helping to bridge the divide between independent
and state sectors. If we can create a new style academy, building on
the best of Bradbourne and Wildernesse, we can all gain.
I’ve one suggestion to make, though. I don’t want to see a mega-school.
The bigger state schools are too big, and can be very impersonal for
younger pupils. It’s noticeable how independent schools are divided up
into houses, with housemasters and house tutors responsible for
individual pastoral care.
In the United States the Small School movement has championed the idea
of small schools sharing the same premises but keeping a distinct
identity.
Perhaps we could do that here. I don’t want to see Bradbourne and Wildernesse melded together into one gigantic school.
Let’s have smaller units. That way, we could have a small grammar
campus – perhaps for 11-16 year olds – plus single-sex schools for
those who prefer them, or even a co-ed campus for those who don’t.
A single academy, then, but several schools. They would share the
library, the sports fields, the theatre and the science blocks. But
each would cater for different abilities and interests, building its
own distinct ethos and identity. Why not?
