Stop Discriminating Against Brentford Children!

Local Parents Seek Petition Signatures to Present to Council Protesting about Secondary School Admissions

Local parents continue to be concerned about the recent allocation of places in mixed secondary community schools. Many have been in contact with local councillors and L B Hounslow Education department regarding what they see as discrimination against applicants from the Brentford area.

They say the strict reliance upon the distance criteria from home to the nearest mixed secondary school (e.g. Chiswick Community School) effectively rules out their chances of a successful application. Following several parent meetings a petition has now been launched to focus the council’s attention on this issue prior to the meeting of the council’s executive on 6th April to fix the policy for 2011 onwards. Parents are particularly concerned that given the rise in Brentford’s population the situation will escalate and in the near future few Brentford children will have any choice in being educated locally.

One parent, David Beckett (32) said “several parents raised this with LB Hounslow Director of Education eighteen months ago as we recognised the problem of secondary school place availability would get worse. Unfortunately no action was forthcoming and now many children leaving Brentford primary schools this year have not been offered a place at any school they expressed a preference for.”

The petition makes suggestions for the immediate, short and long term solutions to the current situation. Concerned parents hope that as many people as possible will sign and not just parents of children in years 5 and 6, as a permanent solution is essential for the future education of all Brentford’s children.

The petition is available online  and will also be circulated by parents at St Pauls, Lionel Road, Green Dragon and Strand on the Green schools. Anyone wishing to sign a paper copy of the petition but unable to locate one can download it here (pdf). Please circulate it amongst your friends and neighbours. If you have any queries please contact editor@brentfordtw8.com. Signatures need to be returned by 5pm on 31st March 2010 (Wednesday) and to St Paul's School, St Paul's Road, Brentford.

March 26, 2010