Last week Reading West MP Martin Salter convened a meeting between parents from the Whitley area and Reading Borough Council Education officers together with the heads of the John Madejski Academy (JMA) and Prospect College to try and find a way forward following the news that 46 children from Whitley Excellence Cluster schools were unable to obtain a place at JMA this year.   The meeting was chaired by Whitley councillor Mike Orton and took place at Geoffrey Field Junior School on Thursday evening.  An information sheet outlining the admissions policy and the process for making an appeal against refusal of a place was circulated to parents. 

Martin Salter called for a dedicated school bus service to be provided for Whitley Children attending either Prospect College or Blessed Hugh Faringdon School in West Reading.  He also asked that the academy and the Borough council begin urgent talks with a view to exploring the possibility of expanding the academy to cope with increased demand in future years.  However, the parents heard that it was simply not possible to take more than the designated 180 pupils in the current year. 

Mr Salter has written to Councillor Jon Hartley, Reading’s Lead Member for Education to press for action in both these areas.  

In his letter Mr Salter said:

“It is clear that JMA has proved to be an extremely popular school and that pressure on places has also been exacerbated by the impending closure of Ryeish Green School by Wokingham Council.

There are two areas where progress must be made if these problems are to be addressed.  Firstly, it is important that the Borough Council, the Whitley Excellence Cluster schools and the JMA commence urgent discussions over the expansion of secondary places in South Reading.  I realise that there is insufficient time to take in an extra class this coming academic year but nobody wants to be in this situation again in 2009.  I am hoping to raise this issue at an extraordinary meeting of the JMA governors on 31st March.

Secondly, I would very much hope that Reading Buses and Reading Borough Council are able to provide a dedicated bus for Whitley children attending either Blessed Hugh Faringdon School or Prospect College.  This is the least that can be done to make it easier for parents who are disappointed to discover that there were insufficient places for their children. ”

Mr Salter added:

“When the academy was being planned back in 2004 the predecessor school, Thamesbridge College, was half empty at Year 7 with just 59 first choice preferences for 150 places.  At the same time around 75 Whitley children were being sent to Ryeish Green.  On these figures it was not unreasonable for the Academy to be planned to have a 180 pupil Year 7 intake, particularly as there were no plans to close Ryeish Green on the table.  Whilst it is clear that the Academy is a victim of its own success this is of no comfort to those parents denied a place and worried about how their children will get to secondary schools further away from their homes.  A dedicated bus service is essential in the short term and in the long term I want to see more secondary school places in South Reading, preferably at the JMA.”