Wokingham

Wokingham District Council members have asked education officers for a report on the future of Ryeish Green School for consideration at the executive meeting in July.

Falling pupil numbers at Ryeish Green School in Shinfield, Wokingham have raised concerns about the viability of the school. For several years, the school, with the support of the local authority, has been working to raise standards, improve its reputation in the community and attract more pupils. Although there has been progress, pupil numbers have continued to fall over recent years, particularly in the last two years when there has been a significant decline.

At their meeting on July 27, the ten-strong executive will hear from Wokingham education officers how the school’s pupil numbers have fallen over the last five years (from 904 in September 2002 to an anticipated 740 in September 2006) creating a question mark over the future viability of the school.

The school’s official admission number is for 210 pupils every September but the school has a planned intake for September 2006 of only 103. The outcome of this is that the school now has in excess of 25% surplus capacity / places. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) requires local education authorities to take action if schools get into a position where there is 25% or more surplus capacity.

The fall in pupil numbers at the Wokingham school is also putting extreme pressure on the school’s finances. The school is in a deficit budget position for 2006/2007, with projected figures indicating increasing deficit in 2008/2009.

Nearly 60% of the pupils who live in the catchment area of the school choose to go to other schools. Consequently, places are taken up by pupils from outside the district, mainly from south Reading, where the new Madejski Academy School opens in September 2006. It is anticipated that many of the Reading pupils will in future be going to the Academy, thus reducing the numbers at Ryeish Green even further.

Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “Education officers have been asked to present a full report to the executive members who will consider the details very carefully. At this stage however, it is difficult to see how the school can continue to be viable when so few parents are choosing to send their children there. We have a duty to take a strategic view for education across the district whilst at the same time meeting our responsibility to look at all the options when schools have significant surplus capacity.”

Parents, staff and governors at the school are currently being informed, via a letter from Wokingham council, of the executive meeting in July. If the executive decides to go for consultation about the future of the school, then the formal consultation process would begin in October, and would include full consultation with governors, staff, pupils, parents, prospective parents and the wider community. Any decision about the future of the school would not be taken until June 2007. Throughout the whole process, the needs of pupils and their continuity of education, as well as the well-being of staff, will be paramount.

Wokingham District Council