Who is to blame for the crisis at Oxted School?
On Saturday we saw the 2nd of two Marches of concerned parents and their supporters into Oxted. This time it was from Godstone - about 3 miles away - the last march was from Lingfield, slightly further in distance but nearer on the train. What both groups have in common is that a proposal from Surrey County Council to change the catchments area meaning children from both areas are unlikely to be able to attend their nearest secondary school.
Oxted School is big, in fact the biggest in Surrey, well over 2000 pupils attend and there is little scope for any meaningful expansion. So who is to blame for this problem?
Central Government are probably first in the firing line as the proposal to change the catchments area stems from revised government guidance, but Surrey County Council must take a large share of the responsibility as they run the school system in the County and if Oxted School has reached capacity then it should be down to them to do something about it.
However this immediate crisis has come about due to growing demand (fuelled by more and more 'government sponsored' housing developments in the district) and the lack of an alternative choice in the south of Tandridge. The problem parents are facing is caused by the unresponsiveness of the current education system to changing needs. This will only be solved by making it easier to open new schools in response to local needs and the funding following the children. It should be open to parents, charities, or even the private sector to develop schools - alongside the county council. The key objective (as with the NHS) should be for a decent free education to be available for every child in the area in which they live. The exact system of delivery should be determined locally. This system works in other countries (who have better results than the UK's state sector) so there is no reason why it couldn't be applied in the UK.
Update: The BBC are reporting that a solution might have been found.
