HAMPSHIRE education chief Don Allen believes the concept of specialist school status is "to some extent flawed" and "essentially about money rather than anything else".
Cllr Allen, Hampshire County Council's executive member for education, revealed his views during a discussion on a range of education issues with The Gazette to coincide with the start of this year's new school term.
Cllr Allen said that Basingstoke, where six secondary schools have achieved specialist status, is "a shining light" within the county in terms of the percentage of schools to have the status.
But, he added, he believes the concept is flawed in a town the size of Basingstoke because parents don't have much of a choice about where they can send their children.
Cllr Allen said: "Basingstoke, from a specialist school status point of view, is a shining light within the county. There has been quite close co-operation within the schools and they've also had quite significant support within the town centre from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. The council is close to big businesses in the town and they've certainly been very helpful.
"It's very much a function of how schools in the Basingstoke area are actually working with each other and don't see themselves as in fierce competition with each other.
"So we are doing very well. Having said that, I won't be satisfied until we have 100 per cent and I don't think it'll be that long, frankly. We are moving in that direction.
"Specialist school status, I'll be honest about it, I see it essentially as about money rather than anything else. The concept, I think, is to some extent flawed, except perhaps in very big cities.
"Most of our kids haven't got too much choice of what school to go to, even some of the ones in the town. It's not that easy for parents to get their child to that school, rather than the local school.
"In a big city, it's probably much easier to have three or four schools with different specialisations, and you can say 'That's the one we think is appropriate and let's get him or her in there'. Once you come out into the more rural areas, or the less intensively urban areas, frankly it's a bit of a nonsense.
"What happens - and I'm very happy it does happen - is the schools look at this as getting extra resource. Yes, they do put extra resources into that particular area where they say they'll specialise in, but they look very hard about how they can extend that across the whole curriculum area.
"Some are easier than others. If you take the technology one, it's an absolute classic. You can virtually apply technology to every subject in the school.
"Equally and importantly, the schools do continue to provide comprehensive education to the curriculum as a whole. So while you do have a slight emphasis on a particular area, it is relatively slight.
"I'm very happy to get the extra money because it is a significant amount over a three-year period, which can then be extended."
Cllr Allen said the declining number of pupils - caused by falling birth rates - in Hampshire's schools is one of the biggest issues the local education authority is facing.
Several Basingstoke schools have already been affected, including Worting infant and junior school, which are to be amalgamated, and Beech Down Primary School, which will close for good at the end of the academic year.
However, he revealed that Basingstoke is "by a long way" not the worst affected area in the county and would not be the subject of a major review for another two or three years, maybe longer. And besides, if and when it does happen, he believes it will be an opportunity to improve the quality of provision.
"I don't anticipate anything significant within Basingstoke in terms of reorganisation consultations for two, maybe three years," said Cllr Allen.
He added: "We do monitor the situation every year. As soon as we talk about it, people see it as a threat. However, I would see it very much as an opportunity to look at ways of using our resources to improve flexibility, and frankly as a way of raising standards.
"With Beech Down Primary School, detailed plans are now in place. I know there was opposition, but I think in time people will say it's a definite improvement."
Cllr Allen's preference is for medium or large-size schools as opposed to smaller ones, which, he said, are more vulnerable.
However, he pointed out that surplus places affect secondary schools in a different way to primary schools.
He explained: "We have, for a number of years, lived with the surplus places in secondary schools, simply by recognising that Basingstoke is the most rapidly expanding population in the county. The plans coming through, such as Manydown, which I'm fairly confident will take place, frankly emphasise that even more."
Over the next couple of years, Cllr Allen said some Basingstoke schools can expect various renewal works in areas such as electrics, heating and external cladding, on a priority basis. He singled out Richard Aldworth Community School as being a candidate for this type of work.
He said he is excited about the prospect of the new John Hunt of Everest Community School in Popley. He explained: "I'm confident the new school will be really state-of-the-art. I think there will be a significant shift in parents wanting to get their children there.
"The school suffers very seriously in that it doesn't get a balanced intake of pupils. A lot of the middle class parents in the catchment area try to get their children into other secondary schools. As a result, most of the parents of pupils, on average, are not as committed to education."
Staff levels in terms of numbers are as good as they've ever been, he said, but some specialist positions are short. All in all, Cllr Allen is "bullish" about education in Basingstoke and Hampshire - but he feels that more needs to be done.
He said: "We are doing quite well, but there's still an awful lot to do. I'm not going to be satisfied until every kid coming out of our primary schools has got adequate literacy and numeracy to take on the secondary school curriculum - and we're not there yet."
* Do you have a view on what Cllr Allen has said or on education issues affecting the Basingstoke area? Write to The Letters Editor, The Gazette, Gazette House, Pelton Road, Basingstoke, RG21 6YD or e-mail editor@basingstokegazette.co.uk
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