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In March 2009, a friend took me to a public meeting about the difficulties local families had experienced when their child applied for their secondary school. It became clear that, unless action was initiated swiftly, I would find it very hard to get my children into a local secondary school of their choice and which was not one of the county’s three worst performing schools.
From this meeting, several parents with children in local public sector primary schools joined me in setting up the WD3 School Action Group to resolve this problem (see below).
We have managed a programme of change that has given birth to several projects. Frustrated at a lack of progress in the 'collaboration' between by the two local education and planning council authorities, we set up one of these projects with three outstanding local senior teachers to open a local community non-selective school. In September 2013, we opened The Reach Free School (the first new secondary school in south-west Hertfordshire for 35 years). Reach Learning is the Trust established to oversee this Reach Free School project (see below).
WD3 School Action Group
Reach Free School
The WD3 School Action Group was established in 2009 by a group of local parents seeking more local secondary school places for local children.
It is only after a public campaign that the education decision-makers really started to listen to local parents about the poor situation in south-west Hertfordshire.
Although there are plenty of good local selective schools, school selection processes are such that children living in the less socially mobile parts of Maple Cross, Mill End and Rickmansworth children find it almost impossible to get into them. If they do not get in because of a specific academic, creative or sporting aptitude, they cannot get in on distance because they live too far away. Instead, because of the priority they give to aptitudes, these schools give precedence to children from as far away as Harrow. When we set up the campaign group, given the Local Education Authority’s past decision to close down local schools and sell the land to developers, local children were having to attend the 3 Local Education Authority (LEA) schools in south-west Hertfordshire, the worst 3 performing schools in Hertfordshire at that time.
Our campaign sought 2 goals:
- New LEA secondary schools serving the increased south-west Hertfordshire children population.
- An increase in the number of school preferences (from a paltry 3) that secondary applicants can list to match the application process offered to applicants by neighbouring LEAs.
In my tenth year of Chairing this programme, it has been a joy to announce that we have finally been able to close down the campaign having:
- Lobbied the Local Education Authority such that it now offers every Hertfordshire child to list four school options when applying to a secondary school.
- Successfully lobbied the Local Planning Authority such that it has allocated local land for the provision of two new local schools, and, for the first time in the district's history, built in a contingency of land provision in case population growth again means more school place supply is required.
- Opened The Reach Free School in a temporary location in September 2013 before moving to its purpose-built £19m permanent Maple Cross home in September 2018.
- Welcomed the Danes Educational Trust's decision to open its Croxley Danes Free School at its new, permanent home in Croxley Green in September 2020, moving from its currently temporary location in Watford.
The project to open this new secondary school was birthed in the WD3 School Action Group campaign programme, The Reach Free School is a much needed non-selective community school which is committed to providing outstanding education delivered by outstanding teachers. We have high aspirations for our pupils and high expectations of them. All pupils will:
- Commit their best efforts to all that they do.
- Support each other to achieve their potential.
- Work with their teachers to exceed their goals.
- Demonstrate exemplary behaviour in all that they do.
- Take pride in their school and its community within its walls and beyond.
- Enjoy learning.
The Reach Free School will have an active role in the community, working with local businesses, supporting local events and providing a hub for local services. Pupils will be very much involved in the school’s wider responsibilities, developing skills in leadership and decision making, communication and collaboration and independent, self-led learning.
A sense of purpose and responsibility will pervade lessons and activities at The Reach Free School, and it is important that our pupils recognise their own responsibilities as members of the community. It is this that underpins The Reach Free School’s ethos of Achievement, Community, Enjoyment – ACE.
The Reach Free School is a four-form-of-entry school; we have deliberately determined to keep it a relatively small secondary school so that staff truly can name and understand the needs of each different student.
For more information about The Reach Free School (of which I am a Governor), click here.
Telephone us: 01923 437601 or 07552 358200
Follow us on Twitter: @reachfreeschool
Email us: admin@reachlearning.co.uk
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