Middle schools go under microscope

MIDDLE schools will once again come under the microscope when Worcestershire County Council reviews their role tomorrow.

In the country's largest local school review, which will cost around £80m in total, the cabinet will examine whether Wyre Forest's current three-tier system should be replaced with two-tiers.

This would mean changing their first, middle and high schools programme into the primary and secondary school system, which 92 per cent of the country has adopted.

And the decision could have serious repercussions throughout the county.

If the council decides to remove the three tiers, some schools will undoubtedly close and others will amalgamate.

Schools in Evesham - such as Blackminster Middle, St Egwin's CE Middle and Simon de Montfort Middle - and Pershore's Abbey Park Middle could then be under threat.

Julie Reilly, vice-chairman of Worcestershire Middle School Headteachers' Association, is firmly against a switch.

"I'm an advocate for change if it means better chances for children but the options in front of us will not do that," said Mrs Reilly, also headteacher at Comberton Middle School, in Borrington Road, Kidderminster.

"I have taught in two-tier and three-tier systems and it's not the system that creates good standards but the schools and the teachers themselves."

In the past two years, the Government has inspected eight of the 11 middle schools in the Wyre Forest area and all have been described as good or very good.

"In our case, we were described as having standards that were improving faster than the average school with running costs lower than in most schools," said Mrs Reilly.

"The way to raise standards is not to knock schools down and rebuild larger ones under a different name, but to have the vision to look closely at teaching and the curriculum."

The three-tier system in Wyre Forest undoubtedly has its strengths.

Small classes, specialist teachers and facilities have led to strong exam results in recent years, and the smaller school sizes allows pupils to feel comfortable in the environment.

The system also allows children to enjoy a smooth transition between first schools and the wider experiences and opportunities of high schools.

Finally, the "pyramid of schools" - in the first, middle and high school system - works closely together to pass on knowledge about pupils and offer a breadth of education.

However, more than nine in 10 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) across the country have opted for a two-tier system and Worcestershire County Council will examine the scheme.

The review process, which will take until Christmas to reach a decision, will include around 180 meetings.

Julien Kramer, the council's director of education, emphasised it would be a thorough operation.

"We have previously carried out reviews in Redditch and Bromsgrove, which remained three-tiers, and Worcester, Rubery and Hagley, which are now two-tiers," said Mr Kramer. "So this is not a debate about whether one system is better than the other.

"This is a debate to build a new education system, which will be effective for the next 25 to 50 years, and beyond.

"Julie Reilly is one of our best headteachers and we do not want schools or teachers to feel uncertain about their futures, but we have to review education to achieve our aims of raising standards and improving facilities.

"Some facilities are virtually the same as when I went to school and we need to make sure they are right for children in the 21st Century."

A two-tier system would result in fewer, larger schools - something supporters of the scheme readily endorse.

"One of the problems with three tiers is high schools start at age 13, and teachers only have about six months to get to know the pupils before they have to give them advice on very important decisions," said June Longmuir, cabinet member for education.

The debate will continue for many months, and, at a time when school funding is an important issue, will no doubt attract interest from across the education community.