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Crawford Hoop Masters

Crawford Primary is officially Southwark’s best at basketball – and the Camberwell school now aims to become the best in London, writes Stephen Eighteen…. The youngsters recently won the Basketball tournament organised by Southwark Community Games. The team topped their pool in the qualifying rounds, having won all three matches and then headed their pool in the next round to become finalists.

The finals took place at the Elephant & Castle Sports centre earlier this month, where Crawford beat their rivals from Robert Browning Primary School.

The team is now looking forward to representing Southwark by participating in the London Mini-Sports Competition to be held at the Crystal Palace Sports Centre in June.  (Southwark News 24.3.05)

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Twigg hails top school

Two Southwark secondary schools have been commended by the schools minister for rocketing to the top of the class in the newly released figures of fourteen-year olds’ test results.

St Saviour’s and St Olave’s in Borough and St Thomas the Apostle in Nunhead both made it onto the list of the hundred fastest improving schools after their students made significant jumps in the key stage three tests.

Southwark was commended for having achieved some of the country’s biggest improvements in Maths and English, when the borough wide figures came out last autumn.

“This is a tribute to the dedication of pupils and staff at both schools,” said the school standards minister Stephen Twigg MP. “The results reflect the hard-work of teachers and support staff as well as the investment we have made in the early years of secondary education.

“Whilst nobody is saying the schools we are highlighting today haven’t still got issues to focus on, it is important we do recognise where there has been real improvement.”

St Saviour’s and St Olave’s headteacher Dr Irene Bishop said: “ We are of course delighted….we are proud of our students and staff who have worked very hard – sometimes giving extra time and energy after school hours in English, Mathematics and Science – and that the results reflect their efforts. Now we need to ensure that they maintain this momentum and that they achieve equally good results at GCSE and then in their sixth form examinations.”

Borough-wide the number of students achieving the magic Level 5 mark reached at 63% up from 51% in 2003, compared to the national average of 71%; whilst pupils achieving level 5 in maths moved up six points to 58%, compared to 73% nationally.

“These two schools have done a great job” said Cllr Caroline Pidgeon, the council’s Executive Member for Education. “We have seen a steady improvement across the borough for a number of years but this last has been the particularly impressive – far faster than the national rate. We have sent consultants into schools to see what can be improved and everybody has really pulled together and worked hard. Hopefully we will see this coming through into the GCSE results in two years’ time.”

The Labour chair of the Council’s Education Scrutiny sub-committee Cllr Andy Simmons agreed saying “we’ve got to take our hats off and say that the students, teachers and LEA have done a superb job and should be congratulated.”

The typical secondary school budget has risen by 30 per cent in real terms from £2.7 million to £3.6 million since 1997, with some of the cash injection coming from the government’s London Challenge, a programmes focusing on improving the capital’s schools.

This year value added figures show that several schools are doing an impressive job pf maximising their students potential. The value added score gives an indication of the progress students make between eleven and fourteen – a score of 100 indicates the average rate of improvement.

Camberwell’s Archbishop Michael Ramsey Technology College did a great job of lifting their student’s performance with a score of 101.6. The Charter School, Sacred Heart, St Saviour’s and St Olave’s and St Thomas all achieved better than average value added scores.

Kingsdale’s figures also showed that the Dulwich School was making good progress with a huge leap of 13% in maths results from 2003 to 2004.  (Southwark News 24.3.05)

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Fergie Hails Springboard

Sarah, The Duchess of York, visited Oliver Goldsmith Primary School on Tuesday to hear about the work of Southwark-based charity Springboard for children, who help children learn to read and write.

The Duchess answered questions from schoolchildren, such as her worst spelling word (psychological). She read from her own children’s books and explained that her support for literacy strategies is inspired by her daughter Beatrice’s dyslexia. Springboard for Children, launched in Peckham in 1992, is now nationwide and aims to help the 250,000 illiterate children in the UK’s schools.

The charity’s representatives were going on to meet Cherie Blair at Downing Street to put their case for more funding and support.  (Southwark News 24.3.05)

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Let the games begin!

Southwark’s community games are back and this time the borough’s primary school children have taken up dragonboat racing!

With Southwark pledging its support for the London Olympic bid, it is just conceivable that some of the borough’s kids could be donning the red, white and blue in Stratford seven from now.

Peckham picked up gold in last Tuesday’s athletics  meeting at the Elephant and Castle, for the second year running, thanks to the running prowess of youngsters from Oliver Goldsmith’s primary. Camberwell’s John Ruskin Primary came second and Walworth’s Victory Primary came third.

Children from the borough’s eight neighbourhoods will now compete in cricket, football, rugby, volleyball, tennis, swimming and even dragonboat racing. Southwark’s own one time Sierra Leonese Olympian, Cllr Columba Blango, now executive member for sport, said the games were an “incredible success last year. As far as I’m aware, nothing on this scale exists anywhere else in the country.

You only have to come along to one of the heats or finals to see what a buzz the Games have generated and how high the sporting standard among young people in Southwark is.”

Council Leader Nick Stanton pledged by the borough’s support to the city’s Olympic bid last week saying “If London gets the Games, Southwark will have a significant role to play in welcoming international visitors to our top class attractions.  (Southwark News 24.3.05)

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Black boys lose out?

Black Schoolboys are at a disadvantage when it comes to making difficult transition between primary and secondary schools according to the researchers at the London South Bank University.

The study looked at the parents and pupils views of secondary school admissions process as well as the quality of secondary school which pupils were accepted for.

Whilst finding no evidence for greater rates of overt rejection or direct discrimination black children were more likely to step down rather than up the schools league table.

Report author Prof. Irene Bruegel, said that many black and Muslim parents felt that they had received a lack of support and information for finding their sons school places resulting in a pervading sense of injustice.

The System needs to be fair, open and properly explained because once people lose trust in the system it becomes a minefield,” she told the ‘News,’ calling for far more information and support for parents in their applications for secondary school admissions. “We’ve been talking to the kids who feel like 3^rd class citizens at the age of eleven.”

“The Government is setting up a more and more competitive hierarchy and everyone is trying to do the best for their kids but some are more capable than others.”

“The ethnic minority parents that did well tended to be those that were teachers and knew how to work the system.” Prof Bruegel said, conceding that class also had a large part to play.

These experiences, are not a lack of aspiration, have an impact on the educational future of many children, according to the study. Research revealed that while only 25% of children in Southwark currently go onto Higher Education half of the children (aged 11) surveyed in the study stated that they wanted to do so.

Yet race didn’t seem to be such a factor in the experiences of the admissions system for the parents of the girls or other ethnic minority boys.

Prof Bruegel suggested that whilst schools didn’t directly discriminate they tended to go “for what they see as a safer bet when they can pick and choose.” Thus some schools would be less keen to take on average eleven year old black boys that there non-black peers, conscious of expected GCSE results and later performance.

A spokeswoman for Southwark said they would be looking at the LSBU research and that they had a number of programmes in place to improve the education of pupils from all backgrounds.  (Southwark News 24.3.05)

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Daley egg-cellent!

 One time Olympic champion Daly Thompson lined up against children from Tower Bridge Primary School on Friday, for a fiercely fought egg and spoon race, writes Will Pavia…

The man generally acknowledged as the greatest decathlete in history, who set four world records, won three Commonwealth titles and was world and European champion, received some pre-race barracking from his year two opponents.

“Who told them it was twenty years ago?” he said, after one child insinuated that he might have lost his form. “I’m going to beat all of them,” he announced.

Groups of children took turns to line up against Mr Thompson with eggs and spoons. Mr Thompson took of his tracksuit top. “If the kids are taking it seriously then so am I,” he said, before warning them that they might feel a breath of wind as he cruised past them to victory. Debbie, 7, told the ‘News’ 2 I recognise him. He’s a sportsman. His speciality was racing.”

The London-born athlete turned broadcaster and ambassador for London’s Olympic bid was at Tower Bridge to promote London 2012 school packs that are being sent to every primary in the country.

The packs encourage schools to host their own version of the Games, with a PE lesson plan from Daley Thompson, and letters from 2004 Olympic heroes Kelly Holmes and Amir Khan, encouraging kids to ‘back the bid’.

City firm KPMG helped organise and deliver the packs, the Department for Education and Skills blessed them, Tower Bridge Primary year two got to try them out.

Teacher Sarah Caygill said she didn’t know why her class had been chosen. “Maybe we are just one of the nicest classes,” she said.  (Southwark News 24.3.05)

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Schools host USA delegation

Four Southwark Primary Schools recently entertained an American delegation who were sampling the educational techniques used in the borough.

Twelve guests from Minnesota, including the state superintendent for education, politicians, head teachers and teachers, paid visits to the schools as part of a trip organised by the British Council. Guests observed lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils, and looked at the teaching and learning approach used in Southwark to help raise standards and motivate learners.

The visit is in keeping with the DfES international strategy for education, which launched last November and promotes learning in a global context by working with international partners. Schools hosting visits were Michael Faraday, Dulwich Hamlet, Alfred Salter and Dog Kennel Hill primary schools.  (Southwark News 24.3.05)

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ADMISSIONS FALL OUT

100s IN LIMBO OVER SCHOOLS

By Euan Deholm

THE NEW centrally co-ordinated allocation system which promised to provide parents with increased choice over their child’s secondary school has left hundreds of parents devastated as all of their preferred options have been overlooked.

Hundreds without a school

Headteachers have been inundated with call from parents in tears at the prospect of their children being sent to what they consider ‘sink’ schools, whilst other parents have received multiple offers or no offers at all.

There are essentially two different problems: the technical issue of setting up a new complicated multi-agency computer system and then the more fundamental issue of offering choice in an area of poor school provision.

The new centrally coordinated computer system aimed to end the farce of parents holding on to a number of offers that they had received after applying to individual schools, but that relies on having local education authorities that can effectively talk with each other. Whilst Southwark may well have done a good job of co-ordinating their computers with the central hub, other LEAs have picked incompatible systems and Southwark children have been caught by the resulting fallout.

Southwark insists that they sent out all of their offers on time and head teachers have told the ‘News’ that the LEA provided a good support service, but say that many children have still been left in limbo.

Yet even when the allocations system works smoothly parents are till finding that it doesn’t offer them effective choice. In a survey conducted this week in a national paper, Southwark the worst record in the country for giving parents their first choice of place – just 57% compared to a national average of 87%. Indeed, many parents failed to receive any of their six preferences - around one in five in Walworth. Keith Fox Headteacher of St John’s Primary, Walworth told the ‘News’ that in a straw poll of the area’s schools, around 20% of pupils had not got any of the schools that their parents had chosen. “It has been very difficult. I’ve had both parents and children in tears,” he said.

A secondary head told the ‘News’ that they had received similar feedback from a number of primary schools. Yet the council insists that only 5% of children have failed to be assigned any of their choices. Adele Morris said she was “absolutely devastated” when told that her eleven year old daughter would be going to a school in which only 27% of pupils achieved five good GCSEs. “It’s a sink school. If my appeal fails then I’ll teach my daughter at home because she is not setting foot in that school.”

“It isn’t the admissions system that has failed me”. Said Adele Morris who lives in the Borough. “It’s just that as a parent in this part of the borough there is no real choice unless you go to church.”

‘Choice’ has become a buzz word for the main political parties, with Labour making a manifesto pledge of a choice of schools “in which the great majority of 16-year-olds achieve five or more good GCSEs.”

Yet in Southwark just three schools out of thirteen would make the grade – and all three have church connections. Keith Fox also saw the “nature of the geographic spread of schools” as being a key factor contributing to the disappoint of his Walworth families. “There just aren’t the schools in the area for parents to be able to make a good choice.”

Southwark said that cross border applications had contributed to the problem whilst acknowledging any parents filled their choice forms up with “extremely popular selective schools and may not take advantage of the opportunity to list six schools on their application form, “a spokeswoman said. “ Unfortunately it is inevitable that a small percentage will be disappointed.”  (Southwark News 10.3.05)

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MP opens primary’s building

DULWICH MP Tessa Jowell unveiled the new ‘Pickwick’ building at Dulwich Hamlet Junior School on Friday.

The new building replaces temporary huts that have been on the site since World War II and houses three class rooms, an ICT suite, library and staffroom. “We’re really proud of it,” said Deputy Head Claire Purcell. (Southwark News 10.3.05)

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Archbishop of Canterbury visits Elephant secondary

The ARCHBISHOP of Canterbury Rowan Williams dropped in on girls at St Saviour’s and St Olave’s School last Thursday for a discussion on  philosophy, theology and the importance of considered decisions.

The Archbishop gave an assembly at the Elephant & Castle church school in which he implored students to be open minded to others and not judge them at face value but take time to get to know the person ‘hidden round the corner,’ illustrating the point by discussing a recent prison visit.

“We met him for a quick Q & A session and I though he was fantastic. We asked some quite tricky questions, such as ‘What was his conception of hell?’ and questions about Christian teachings on poverty,” said Renou Um. “He answered in a calm and down to earth way. He was very jolly and you could tell he put a lot of thought into his answers. I though he was really cool.” (Southwark News 10.3.05)

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Elephant schools’ concert

By Euan Deholm

CHILDREN FROM schools across the Elephant and Castle joined together this week to sing a few of their favourite things as part of a new scheme to draw the schools together.

The jazz concert, with its John Coltrane theme, was part of the Learning in Cities programme which will be showcasing the work that local school children have made through their cooperation at an exhibition at the Elephant and Castle shopping centre. 

Much of the work has focused on the changing face of the area with children designing contributing to the regeneration team’s efforts through drawing up their plans for ‘Our Dream High St.’ Children from the sixteen schools have shared their ideas through an intranet – or local computer network – called WebElephant.

“This is about schools working together creatively to extend and enrich the curriculum fro local children and encouraging collaborative links between the local community, local businesses and schools,” said Lynn Charlton who has been running the programme.  (Southwark News 10.3.05)

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Elephant trees

MAYOR OF SOUTHWARK, Ann Yates, and the Executive Member for the Environment, Cllr Richard Thomas, joined school children from Charlotte Sharman and Trees for Cities in planting a tree on St George’s Road last week.

More than 50 new trees will be planted in the Elephant and Castle area. Southwark has allocated another £200,000 to plant trees next year. (Southwark News 3.3.05)

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Meeting the Breakfast Bell

AYLWIN SCHOOL GIRLS turned out in force for a breakfast seminar led by Sir David Bell, the Chairman of the Financial Times Group.

In spite of dreadful weather, fifty girls arrived at the Bermondsey school at 8.00am for croissants, fruit juice and coffee. Many were accompanied by their own mentors: these mentors come from companies such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deutsche Bank, The Financial Times and Ernst Young. They work with the girls to raise GCSE results.  (Southwark News 3.3.05)

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Aylesbury high achievers

IF EDUCATION is the key to turning around troubled neighbourhoods then Walworth’s huge Aylesbury estate would appear to have a bright future.

Five years ago less than one in five Aylesbury children left school with five or more A-C at GCSE but since then something of a renaissance has taken place with the estate’s kids outperforming the borough average, with 40.3 per cent hitting the grade.

To celebrate the change of fortune the estate’s New Deal for Communities programme has presented Aylesbury pupils and the main schools teaching them with certificates of achievement.

“The test scores are just another indicator that suggests greatest gains are being made by Aylesbury students who were once thought to be at greatest risk of being left behind”, said the NDC’s Richard McDormott. “And this is just the beginning.”

The NDC have supported a range of activities for the young people across the estate as well as helping with extra educational support such as English as a second language provision.

“Kids aren’t out on the blocks anymore doing what they were doing,” said Aylesbury Sacred Heart pupil Zara Huie, 13. “Now there is dance and a lot more interesting activities to be getting on with.”

When asked what needed to be done to spur them on further, Adrianna Carduso, 14, spoke up for many in the group when she said: “They have to really push much more than they often do.” (Southwark News 3.3.05)

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