Letter: Why have rumours circled the Wakeman School?
Thursday 3rd March 2011, 5:28AM GMT.
Letter: One of the reasons the local authority is trying to close the Wakeman School has been given as the relatively low number of pupils.
As one of the teachers was quoted saying in the Shropshire Star, “rumours have circulated for years about impending closure and there is no doubt this has depressed pupil numbers”.
Some may be wondering where the rumours started and, while that will never be known for sure, it is surprising Shropshire Council and its predecessors have never attempted to quell such talk.
It is impressive parents and pupils have still chosen the school.
Although numbers joining year seven have been modest, there is always a steady net gain as parents and pupils find the inclusive philosophy of the Wakeman suits them better than their original choice of school.
Where will such pupils go if the Shrewsbury school providing a secure and positive environment to all comers is taken away from us?
Chris Lemon
Shrewsbury
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The facts are pupil numbers are low – and the real estate is extremely valuable. This combination has sealed the fate of Wakeman School, not rumours.
Our Council will look at facts, not the rumbling rumours of local people.
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Yep, there’s gold in them there bricks, a quick profit to be made and what have future generations ever done for us eh ?
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The fact is also that the town is a town of grey hair and the next target will be ridding it of the sixth form college.
Then the town can truly live the dream of living in the wonderful rose tinted past whether it be mediaeval,Georgian,Victorian or even rekindling the spirit of the thirties followed by WW11.
Time must stop there however and anything falling down replaced with replicas of only those periods of history and those alone. :p
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Although having never been to the school myself three of my friends said they had been bullied whilst there and said the environment was less than inclusive. I wonder how the letter writer has come to this conclusion as I know many people who have been to this school and said it was unfriendly and seemed to be in denial of any problems. The impression I get is that at one stage this school was inclusive but this is not the case anymore and the school is still clinging to previously held perceptions of what it was once like rather than the current reality. Does anyone have views to support either contention – I can only go on what my friends have told me.
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My daughter goes to the Wakeman and is very happy at this lovely school- she’s appalled to hear the rumours of bullying. If you want unbiased support of her experience, after the latest Ofsted visit, the inspector wrote to students “You were rightly proud of your school…it is a happy place to be”, describing the Wakeman as “this improving and supportive school”.
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So the depressed pupil numbers are down to rumours of closure are they? Not down to a “satisfactory” inspection report when four of the six secondary schools in Shrewsbury got “good” or “outstanding”?
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I speak from experience in the letter, I have a child at the school and there have been no reports of bullying over and above the usual in the three years she has been there. Her year has added getting on for twenty pupils since the beginning of year seven, mostly from other Shrewsbury schools, e net gain by any standards. On the other hand my son went to The Priory for two years and we have nothing but bad memories of his experiences there. Do not rely on Ofsted for accurate reports, their methods are crude and often irrelevant. And Council employees have for some years been aware of the rumours which have inevitably become a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, when the Wakeman was reprieved last time round 23 years ago it’s roll numbers soared to over 700 – with a brand new £4m media centre the same could happen again.
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Don’t know what everyones complaining about, it’s GCSE A*-C grade %s are pretty beaten up by the likes of Belvidere, Priory and Meole Brace. I’d rather them close this than close the hospital or community centres.
The fact is due to increased property prices in the town, and a decreasing number of under 18s, there are few young families in the area. Wakeman has ended up having to practically eliminate it’s catchment area, because it is just seen as somewhere for the overflow of Belvidere applicants to go.
Still, they’ll probably just re-open it in 2015 with the new Labour government and the same teachers. Maybe they’ll rename it as well to “Wakeman? Nah that was never a place”
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My daughter attends Meole Brace science college. She tells me Wakeman pupils are already transferring there. Will we end up with classes bigger than 30 to accomodate these extra pupils? I hope the council have thought this through.
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