As reported last month, Cheshire East Council offered first preference places to 94 per cent of secondary school applicants this year.
This is more than 0.5 per cent up on last years figure and 10.86 per cent better than the 2017 national average of 83.5 per cent.
However, of the total number who requested Wilmslow High School as their first choice only 86.7%% were successful, with 50 students losing out.
Wilmslow High School had 330 places to allocate for the academic year beginning September 2018 but the total number of applications for places at the school was 558.
Of the 330 places allocated, 325 went to those who made Wilmslow High their first choice.
A total of 81 second preference requests were made for the school and 60 third choice requests.
The school borders other local authorities and in total there were 97 applications from people living outside of Cheshire East.
Due to the high number of applications in the north of the borough, a decision was taken by Cheshire East Council to request admission to some schools above the Published Admission Number. Wilmslow High School was one of these schools and as a result 330 places have been allocated, rather than the Published Admission Number of 300.
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A blind man with his head ** *** **** could have seen this coming. But our glorious council didn't. Not fit for purpose. Out May 2019.
They key piece of information missing is how close to WHS do the kids live who didn't get in. Again, if they live a long way away and nearer other schools I'm not too worried about that either.
If kids who live in Wilmslow didn't get in that's a problem. But we don't know that from the information given. The only part that can be supported by the statistics given is that it is attracting a large number of applicants who don't live near it at all.
In the past I have been provided with a list of where they have come from, i.e. the town or village, but this time the response was "Cheshire East Borough, a number of other UK Local Authorities and overseas".
This shows the allocation of places for all secondary schools. As you can see the distance for Wilmslow is 0.7mikes as crow flies from the schools entrance
There should clearly be another school being planned for Handforth and Handforth Dean in partnership with Stockport because of its proximity to Heald Green etc.
It is a no brainer so why the delay?
There is allocated land currently owned by Royal London that will afford an extended Wilmslow High School and land owned by CEC in Handforth. If our council aspires to rapid growth it needs to grasp the compulsory purchase nettle and put in the required infrastructure to support its ambitions in advance of need. I would have thought this is what Local Planning is all about.
Clearly CEC is hedging on how to provide
for secondary education. Out of the blue the idea of creating a Federated Academy has been brought forward bringing under one management the
High School and all feed primaries. How this resolves the numbers issue is a bit of a mystery but what it does do is pass on the problem from CEC to an Academy provider.
Residents of Wilmslow (RoW) has for the past five (5) years or more, since the advent of the
so called Wilmslow Vision (more like a nightmare, as we see clearly illustrated above allied to the car parking chaos around Wlm), repeatedly asked Cheshire East;s leadership & planners to address the mounting problem of infrastructure. The areas we were and still are very concerned about are inadequate school places, both primary & senior, medical services, road congestion, parking facilities and other areas and all BEFORE the many hundreds of new houses around the town are even under construction. The current situation can only get worse with time and further development.
CECs answer to our often expressed concerns has ALWAYS been the same - we, CEC, will look at these areas when or as they occur. Well they have occurred, they are with us now long before the new developments. With CEC not really addressing the problems the infrastructure or what there is of it, can and will get decidedly worse.
We have to bear in mind that WHS caters not only for Wlm's children (or some of them) but it also is the school for Alderley's and Handforth's children.
Our council is betraying our children and yet we do bot hear a peep from the town's CE Conservative councillors on this issue. We know that RoWs Cllr Toni Fox has sought to address the issue but without a magic wand she is a lone Wilmslow voice.
Be assured RoW independents will continue to push and probe to get to the bottom of why Wilmslow people have to put up with so many infrastructure related problems. It has to change and this will only happen if next year Indepenent candidates get the peoples' vote.
http://bit.ly/2p5qmUD
Infrastructure planning is ALWAYS a very late afterthought with CEC - see its lack of planning for Adlington Road & Stanneylands Road, and then we get the disgraceful lack of uncoordinated forethought re school places, medical services etc.
As for school places, all councils should know at least 5 years from a child's birth (all births are recorded as a public record) that a place needs to be provided (and that's before incomers arrive). Therefore the lack of places is not an unseen event, simply a woeful lack of fore-planning and worse of all, unconcern for our children's future well-being.
This lack of concerned planning is yet another reason CEC needs a massive shake out and this is why the borough's voters need to seriously consider voting for independent candidates in 2019 - Residents of Wilmslow (independent) is planning to field a number of our candidates at that time, a free, independent voice for Wilmslow and the borough.
If you would care to join us please call 07930 377778 or 07846 082660 for more info.