"Catchment In Crisis" has been set up by a group of parents living in Worcester to widen awareness of the plight of our children, none of whom have been offered a place at any school within our community. We desperately want our children to remain a full part of the community they are growing up in, are already active in and have friends in. The issues we face have serious consequences for the wider community, particularly those hoping to place their children in schools over the next two years, as well as home owners in particular post codes which have fallen into a "catchment black hole".
What We Have Been Doing
Things have been a little quiet lately whilst we worked on our appeals. The statutory deadline was the 22nd however the Local Authority requested parents submit applications earlier to assist with their planning. This is somewhat ironic as so far all the Local Authority have quoted to us is the fact they achieved the statutory minimum [...]
Practical Solutions
The last few posts have focussed on the fact that so far all the Local Authority are saying is that they have delivered a service above the statutory minimum. They have pointed out that they are not the worst in the country. What they have not done is show any evidence that they are even [...]
Won’t You Even Try?
This post relates to some responses received from the Local Authority which cite extracts from the admissions handbook. The implication is that as the Local Authority have acted legally they may now rest on their laurrels and leave our children to bear the brunt of their failings. None of us are perfect, we all make [...]
The Phantom of The Application
This post deals with another statement made by the local authority in relation to the applications process, again pointing out that they have delivered the bare statutory minimum. Whilst the Local Authority may have: Complied with the School Admission Code and Key Stage One infant class legislation For us the entire application process was a [...]
The Bare Statutory Minimum?
This post relates to a number of comments which have come from the Local Authority in relation to our case. In short the LA makes the point they have delivered the statutory minimum they are required to. One comment mentioned that the situation is worse in other parts of the country, Manchester for example. This [...]
Points from Consultation January 2012
A consultation was held in January 2012. Pre School parents were largely unaware this was taking place, the resulting consultation did not fully represent our views. Furthermore parents who did attend have told us they were against the proposals during the meeting they attended focus shifted from existing pre-school children within catchment to potential expansion [...]
School Places Allocated 2012/2013
Below are the numbers of applicants vs admissions for each of the three primary schools in our area. As you can see it makes grim reading for Red Hill Primary School in particular where a third of children in catchment were rejected. Cherry Orchard Primary School despite its size rejected two children within catchment. Stanley [...]
Is Your Child Affected?
Is your child amongst the displaced, or do you know someone that has been affected, if so please contact us and we will add you to our mailing lists. There are several parents affected by this issue who we are still trying to locate.
Why You Should Support Us – Please Do!
We need as much help as we can get, please support us! There are several reasons why we think you should support us, and a number of reasons why this may be in your direct interest. First and foremost, we are part of your community, if you were ever to find yourself in a situation [...]
The Scenic Route (Battenhall to Pitmaston)
The map on our homepage shows the route from Battenhall to Pitmaston by road, travelling through the city centre and over the road bridge. We understand this is the route being used by the Local Authority to calculate the distance between the affected part of the Red Hill catchment in WR5 (Battenhall Worcester) and Pitmaston [...]
What Happened?
What happened to places at local schools? It seems there has been something of a population increase that caught a few people off guard. The upshot of this is that every school in the area is now over subscribed. One area in particular has fallen into a “catchment black hole”, where no children stood any [...]
We Have a Website!
Welcome to our new website, hopefully it will make it easier to share things. Anyone can post comments / leave feedback on any page on this site. All comments will be moderated. Hopefully we will start populating this site in the next day or so. What Did This Website Cost? £7 to register [...]
Recent Comments
Gavin Hunt on What We Have Been Doing
Has anyone got their appeal next week?Gavin Hunt on What We Have Been Doing
I did hear about the additional places at Nunnery and Stanley Road,...admin on What We Have Been Doing
Hi Gavin, Yes, the LA have created an additional 30 places in the...admin on Practical Solutions
Hi Lesley, This has actually been done now, along with an increase at...Gavin Hunt on What We Have Been Doing
Any new news???Fruitbat on Won’t You Even Try?
It has been most interesting reading your website and all the issues...Lesley Borthwick on Practical Solutions
My grandchildren went to Stanley Road School and this is a great...Simon L on What We Have Been Doing
Hi, thanks for the great update, just to build on the post...admin on Why You Should Support Us – Please Do!
Thanks Emma, hopefully our appeals will lead somewhere, time will tell!Emma on Why You Should Support Us – Please Do!
I too am one of the lucky ones, I already have a...