Anger over school’s ‘underhand’ move
DECISION TO MOVE SIXTH-FORM COLLEGE LEAVES PARENTS FEELING ‘CHEATED’
ANGRY parents say they feel “cheated” by a decision to move a sixth form college from Aspley to a city centre site.
A letter was sent out on last week, telling parents and students at Bluecoat Sixth Form, at Bluecoat Aspley Academy, they would be temporarily relocating to the Nottingham College site in Maid Marian Way from September.
The trust which runs Bluecoat says the switch has to happen as students at a new free school – Bluecoat Trent Academy – would be educated at the school’s sixth form centre while their own facility is being built.
But complaints have been made, such as the delay in informing parents, concerns over the disruption for students and added travel costs.
Rachael Poyle, mother of Year 12 pupil Jude Poyle, said: “It just seems really underhand, it feels like we have been cheated and no-one has said a word.
“We chose Bluecoat for the locality, the new building and facilities. My son usually walks or cycles to his site and I have calculated that this move will add two hours to his day.”
Rachael, of Aspley, was also concerned about Covid-19 and the impact the move would have on her son.
Jude said: “I feel inferior to the new school Year 7s, that they are not as bothered about mine and my friends’ needs and requirements, or that my parents now have to spend extra money that they didn’t expect to.”
The new Bluecoat Trent Academy will be on the former Clarendon College site near Forest Fields.
Bluecoat Sixth Form students will move into Maid Marian Way once Nottingham College students and staff move to the new City Hub campus in Canal Street. The move was agreed between the Archway Learning Trust, which operates the Bluecoat sites and Nottingham College, and has the backing of Nottingham City Council. The move is expected to last two to three years.
A trust spokesperson said: “The relocation site at Maid Marian Way comprises larger premises and allows for more flexibility in the event of further disruption.
“The city centre location also offers more opportunities of partnerships which would be beneficial to sixth-form age groups.”
The spokesperson said “commercial sensitivities” did not allow for the news to be delivered any earlier, but the trust was “actively inviting” parents’ and students’ views.
But Megan Towers, another parent in Aspley, said she had been unable to get a response after contacting the trust directly.
The charity worker, who also has a son in Year 12, said: “He is needing high grades in his A-levels for what he wants to study at university but, with the disruption over the past year and now this, it feels like his chances are diminishing.
“It feels like this plan has been in the pipeline all along so why couldn’t we have been told?
“The trust has said it will refurbish the city site over the summer but I can’t see the point of that if it is temporary.”
Alaina Wood, head of sixth form/assistant principal, said: “With a move to the city centre, we can continue to offer superb standards of teaching and learning and pastoral care, while also providing an enriched curriculum that benefits from being situated in the centre of our thriving city.” Councillor David Mellen, leader of the city council and portfolio holder for schools, said: “The temporary move will not only help to bring activity and students into this part of the city on a short-term basis, but it will also allow us time to continue work on our new post-covid vision for the greater Broadmarsh area.” Nottingham College CEO John van de Laarschot said: “Utilising Maid Marian Way as a temporary home for the Bluecoat sixth form offers a practical solution, but it also demonstrates our desire to foster greater collaborative working between the college and the trust for the holistic benefit of local education.”
It feels like this plan has been in the pipeline all along so why couldn’t we have been told? Megan Towers