Simon Duggan 300
WIRRAL grammar school leaders are calling for the admissions rule book to be ripped up so parents can see the results of pupil entry tests – before applying.
Calls for the review come days after the Daily Post revealed Wirral was the only Merseyside authority seeing the percentage of parents getting one of their first three choices of school fall this year.
Headteachers pushing for a change include Simon Duggan, headteacher at St Anselm’s College, Birkenhead.
The rise in disappointed applicants was blamed on “the gamble backfiring” for parents wasting choices because pupils currently sit grammar school tests after applying for their preferred schools.
Grammar school headteachers in the borough last night denied parents were wasting a choice – pointing out that 99% secured one of their five preferred schools this year and pupils fail to get into other schools for reasons ranging from oversubscription to not meeting criteria. But they called on Wirral council to give “serious thought” to changing its admission system so the results of entry tests are released before the application stage.
They claim the move would “take the fear” out of applying and remove any accusation parents were potentially wasting a choice.
The council’s current admissions policy is at odds with the government’s Schools Admissions Code which, although not mandatory, says grammar schools and their admission authorities “should ensure that parents are informed of the outcome of entry tests before they make their applications for other schools”.
Wirral Council operates an equal preference system, meaning places are allocated based on how closely pupils meet the criteria rather than taking into account the order in which they put schools.
Mr Duggan said, allthough he appreciated there would be “logistical difficulties” bringing the tests forward, he said: “It is only fair for parents that they should know whether their child is eligible and meets the standard for the grammar school before they make their preferences. It would take the fear out of applying.”