Schools and Transport 2

Guy,

You are correct that Bourne Grammar initially grants places to those who have passed the 11+ exam, however those places are then allotted on the basis of distance travelled from home address to school, with those having a shorter journey getting in first. This creates a situation in which many pupils are within the schools catchment area, have passed the exam but are denied a place because they live too far out in the Fens. As the crow flies, we are closer to the school than some who have qualified and gained a place but by accident of geography, the route to school has us driving away before we head to Bourne. The qualifying travel distance has got greater each year.

This is further complicated by the County Councils School Transport Policy, which designates Bourne Grammar as our grammar for free travel despite the fact that we live too far away to get a place (and yes, we live within South Kesteven). The upshot it that we pay in excess of £80 a month to send our daughter to Spalding High School, an amount we can ill afford. Both our children have passed the 11+ and both now attend grammar school in Spalding where places are allotted to high scores first.

By designating grammar schools to people living in addresses who cannot hope to qualify on the basis of distance travelled to school, the system denies an ever increasing number of people any real choice. The Transport Policy and the way places are allotted disadvantage those in rural addresses and this is likely to get worse as more and more houses are built in Bourne. I agree that both Robert Manning and the Deepings Schools are excellent but put either as your second choice, your son or daughter having passed the entry exam for the Grammar, then you will not get a place.

School places are just one of the many things that ought to be taken into account when planning is considered Public Transport has not been improved, neither the bus service from Bourne nor the train from Spalding run either early, late or frequently enough to make them a serious option for commuters. Strange evening gaps in both services can leave you stranded in Peterborough for nearly two hours and as a result the amount of traffic to and from Peterborough increases every day.

The sensible place to build houses would seem to be Peterborough, with its direct link to London and it really beggars belief that more houses have been built in Bourne than in Grantham, which also has a train link to London, is closer to the A1 and has several big supermarkets and more than one petrol station.

LP