Gove: Tudor grange changes "not discrimination"

EDUCATION secretary Michael Gove has insisted Tudor Grange Academy is not discriminating against non-faith pupils over changes to its admissions policy.

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Primary dropped from Tudor Grange admission plans

CONTROVERSIAL plans to give priority to two primary schools for admissions to Tudor Grange Academy have been revised so only one gets priority.

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Motion says council should have school admission powers

COUNCILLORS will this week be urged to support giving Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council back control of school admissions.

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Admission row primary will bid to drop church link

ONE of two primary schools at the centre of a row about admissions at Tudor Grange Academy is to bid to drop a key Church of England link.

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Council opposes "destabilising" Tudor Grange plan

SOLIHULL Metropolitan Borough Council is set to object to “destabilising” plans to change Tudor Grange Academy’s admission policy.

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Tudor Grange: admission fears "groundless"

ALL children who live within the catchment of Tudor Grange Academy will be able to get a place up to 2019 despite controversial admission changes, its leaders have said.

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Tudor Grange bid to change admissions policy

TUDOR Grange Academy has moved to change its admissions policy to give priority to two primary schools, to concern from some parents.

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Schools set to become academies

ARDEN and Tudor Grange secondary schools are set to take on controversial academy status this academic year, the Government has said.

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Arden and Tudor Grange bid for academy status

ARDEN School in Knowle and Tudor Grange School in Solihull want to leave council control and become academies.

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School results flatline

A KEY school exam result score stalled at Solihull schools last year but is still above the national average.

A total 54.4 per cent of borough children got five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths.

While up from 50.5 per cent in 2006, this was 54.6 per cent last year. Click here for details of all schools.

Schools in Solihull town and Knowle again performed well above the national average.

Arden School, Knowle fell from 86 to 84 per cent while Tudor Grange School went from 90 to 91.
Alderbrook Leading Edge School and Arts College went from 64 to 58 while St Peter's Catholic School and Specialist Science College went from 77 to 76.

The national average for English state schools was 48.9 per cent.

In a press release, Councillor Bob Sleigh, deputy leader of the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council said, said: “It gives me great pleasure to see that, yet again, Solihull’s students have reaped the rewards of all their hard work with these excellent results.

“Well done to all of them, and also to their parents and of course teachers for their continued support.”

Meriden MP Caroline Spelman, whose constituency includes Arden School, said she was ‘very proud’ of the results.

She said: “None of this happens by chance: so it’s congratulations to the pupils, parents, teachers, and to Solihull Council which attains such high standards in local education.

“We see quite clearly why Solihull Borough remains a popular place to live and bring up families.”

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Figures: schools keep suspending, not expelling

MORE pupils are being repeatedly suspended and fewer expelled, figures obtained by The Silhillian show, echoing fears that teachers are unable to deal with bullies.

The number of pupils suspended more than once went from 55 in 2004/05 to 108 in 2008/09 at Alderbrook School, Blossomfield Road.

And they rose from 55 to 81 at Tudor Grange School, a Freedom of Information Act request shows.

But permanent exclusions fell from four to two at Alderbrook over the five year period and from six to zero at Tudor Grange.

Critics say this means troublesome children are continuing to cause problems instead of being expelled. The Government has demanded schools reduce expulsions.

Meriden MP Caroline Spelman this week pointed to figures which show 30 borough pupils were expelled in 2007/08. Yet she said half of children were likely to be bullied.

She said: “Since 1997, Labour Government rules have deliberately made it more difficult for schools to expel pupils, undermining the authority of head teachers and meaning bullies end up back at the same school as their victims.”

Pledging a Tory “zero tolerance” approach, Mrs Spelman added: “The key to tackling bullying is giving Solihull’s teachers the powers they need to crack down on bad behaviour.

“But under Labour, the balance of power in the classroom has shifted too far in favour of disruptive pupils.”

The borough figures show most suspensions were for “persistent disruptive behaviour”, then verbal abuse or threatening behaviour to an adult and then physical assault of a pupil.

But Children’s minister Kevin Brennan has said the trend shows “early intervention and a reduction in the most serious incidents of bad behaviour”.

He said: “Heads are taking shorter, sharper action to improve behaviour to nip problems in the bud before it gets more serious, with most suspensions being for just two or three days.”

The Silhillian’s figures show the number of pupils suspended more than once fell at Arden School, Knowle, from 34 in 2004/05 to 25 in 2008/09. One was expelled both years.

The suspensions also fell from 65 to 41 at St Peter's Catholic School. Expulsions fell from four to two.

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