Wheelwright Sixth Form College, Dewsbury (Hansard, 8 November 1984)

§ Mr. John Whitfield (Dewsbury)

The people of Dewsbury were reassured to note from the Gracious Speech on Tuesday that the Government will continue to develop policies to raise educational standards". However, the decision by the Kirklees metropolitan district council education authority to remove completely school-based sixth form education from non-Roman Catholic children in Dewsbury can only be construed as an attempt to reduce education standards in my constituency. The local education authority would no doubt deny that that was its intention, but what are its reasons for wishing to close the Wheelwright college and to push all would-be sixth form children in the area into a further education establishment known as the Dewsbury and Batley technical and art college — DABTAC for short — which it intends to redesignate as a tertiary college?

The final paragraph of the so-called consultative document of February 1984, which was entitled "Post 16 Education in Dewsbury", sums up the local education authority's case. It claimed that the tertiary college would be a new institution. The quality and commitment of the existing staff, the adoption of the best practices of the present institutions and the comparatively minor capital expenditure could, claims the LEA—obviously it is not sure — create a good tertiary college and thereby significantly enhance the educational opportunities available to all. In fact, the proposed tertiary college would not be a new institution. In reality, it would be an extended version of DABTAC, using the same site and a few additional Victorian buildings in Halifax road, Dewsbury, in what is already a highly congested area.

The present attractive and comparatively modern buildings of the Wheelwright college on the other side of town would be abandoned. The commitment of the Wheelwright staff has already been severely damaged, not to say undermined, by the manner in which the notice under section 12 of the Education Act 1980 was drawn up, containing as it did the detail of transitional arrangements, and in particular the transference of students from Wheelwright to DABTAC. It was surely inappropriate to refer to transitional arrangements when a decision on a closure had not yet been confirmed by the Secretary of State. The closure was not in any event to take place until 1987.

To set out such arrangements without any consultation with the staff concerned was a wholly reprehensible act and can only have been designed to undermine the future viability of Wheelwright college, but that policy had started back in 1980.

The phrase "comparatively minor capital expenditure" is one that the Minister might well be advised to beware of. How often have we heard that expression anti been attracted by the superficial simplicity of the claim that big is always beautiful? If only the Government had resisted such lures when reorganising the local authorities in 1974, the present Parliament would not have been faced with the uphill task of abolishing the metropolitan counties.

317 Wheelright college was opened in September 1974 as a result of one of the last major decisions of the former county borough of Dewsbury. In its reorganisation of secondary education in the town on comprehensive lines, a system of four high schools for children aged 12 to 16 and one sixth form college were established. It was always envisaged that post-16 education would be best provided by a complementary service from the new Wheelwright college, on the one hand, and the further education establishment, DABTAC, on the other.

The scheme was approved by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, who was at that time the Secretary of State for Education and Science. As part of the reorganisation, the famous old Wheelwright grammar school ceased to exist. The college was set up only 10 years ago specifically to provide sixth form education for up to 300 children, for most of whom there was to be no other such opportunity. In spite of falling general school rolls and the fact that the St. John Fisher Roman Catholic high school established its own sixth form in 1977, Wheelwright college has prospered, maintaining a roll of about 250 students.

However, not content with what had been done in Dewsbury in 1974, the new education authority in Kirklees has, since 1977, been examining the whole educational provision in north-east Kirklees. From 1980 the authority allowed rumours to circulate that it was considering closing Wheelwright college. There is no doubt that the insidious rumours which were allowed to circulate well in advance of the so-called consultation process which began at the beginning of this year caused the rolls to fall from 294 students in 1981 to 220 this year. Even so, Wheelwright college is still by far the largest unit providing sixth form education in north Kirklees.

I hope that it is not presumptuous of me to expect that the Minister may well say that the Secretary of State is now exercising a quasi-judicial role in deciding whether to confirm the section 12 notice of intention to withdraw support from Wheelwright which was issued by the LEA on 20 September.

I wish to put a direct question to the Minister: where do he and his Department stand on the provision of school-based sixth form education? Are they for it or against it? I sincerely hope that the Minister will assure me that the Government would never be content to see all 16-plus education in an area confined solely to establishments of further education. Such would be the situation for all children in Dewsbury, except Roman Catholics, if Wheelwright college were to close. In Kirklees such a move would have particulrly sinister implications, because the education authority recently rejected an offer of £2 million made to Dewsbury high schools under the Government's training and vocational education initiative on the ground that the money was soiled with the hands of the Manpower Services Commission and that therefore it was not wanted.

It has to be admitted that sixth form education in north Kirklees is in a somewhat jumbled state. In addition to the St. John Fisher Roman Catholic high school, there are other sixth forms at Heckmondwike grammar school, which is shortly to close, at Mirfield high school. at Batley boys high school and Howden Clough girls high school. The largest of those sixth forms has no more than 120 students. What can be the possible educational logic behind the closure of a purpose-created sixth form college, 318 leaving behind other much smaller individual sixth forms? No doubt they will be knocked on the head one by one on the grounds of their small size and alleged unviability as stage two of the insidious Socialist grand plan for more social engineering in Kirklees.

Even today, Wheelwright college, which caters for up to 300 pupils, is far more viable than any of the surrounding high school sixth forms. With an assured future it would be more than capable of providing increased facilities, if required, for sixth form education in north Kirklees if the Secretary of State believes—as I am sure he does — in maintaining education standards and choice.

The parents of Dewsbury are making their views known in no uncertain way. Already more than 8,000 have signed a petition which has been organised by the Wheelwright students council. Moreover, more than 1,000 parents have put together and signed individual letters of objection to the section 12 notice. In the time-honoured anti-democratic Socialist manner, however, staff employed by the local education authority have been gagged when it comes to making their views about what is educationally best known to the Secretary of State. The governing bodies of the four feeder high schools in Dewsbury have been fixed with political placemen by the Left-wing caucus on the local education authority which is determined to close Wheelwright college in spite of all the opposition.

We are not here concerned with a group of neighbouring schools that, due to falling rolls, cannot sustain 16-plus education in each of their establishments. In 1974, a sensible scheme was set up in Dewsbury. It was approved by the then Secretary of State for Education and Science. Four high schools, including the former Wheelwright grammar school, ceased to maintain their own sixth forms and the Wheelwright college was established to provide school-based sixth form education for the children of Dewsbury. At that time, the St. John Fisher Roman Catholic school did not have its own sixth form. More recently, it has obtained approval for the establishment of one. In the surrounding areas of Mirfield, Heckmondwike and Batley the high schools have, perhaps with some difficulty, maintained their sixth forms. When considering the many objections that are being put to him, my right hon. Friend might feel that he must take into account the future viability of some of these separate sixth forms.

In pursuit of its dogmatic egalitarian ends, the Left-wing caucus controlling Kirklees recently embarked on a mockery of a consultation process. The LEA's consultation document stated in the first sentence of the introductory paragraph that it had concluded that the educational interests of the people in Dewsbury and the surrounding areas would be best served by the establishment of a tertiary college in Dewsbury which would replace DABTAC and Wheelwright college. In that context it issued the consultation document and, almost as an afterthought, said that its publication did not mean that a decision had already been reached. It was no surprise to the people of Dewsbury that, in spite of overwhelming opposition to the proposal which was expressed during the consultation period, the LEA resolved in September to withdraw support from Wheelwright college. It therefore embarked on the process to close down probably the one really viable sixth form in the area—the only sixth form available to the 40,000 non-Roman Catholic residents of Dewsbury.

319 Will my hon. Friend the Minister confirm that the principles set out in Department of Education and Science circular 4/82 of 8 June 1982 still apply? Will he confirm that the pattern of education chosen in an area should maintain and, where possible, improve educational opportunity for people aged 11 to 19 in all ranges of ability? Will he confirm that parental choice and the need to maintain what is best and has proved its worth in the existing system of secondary education in the area are still relevant factors? Will he confirm that academic performance is still a major factor in defining the work of any school that it is proposed to close?

The objections which will in due course be submitted to the Secretary of State will show that Wheelwright college has a sustained record of success in the provision of sixth form education. They will reveal that it has proved its worth under the existing arrangements, that it can continue to do so, and that it can easily be increased in size if that is required. Will the Minister confirm tonight that, provided the Secretary of State is satisfied that that is so, the prima facie case for the retention of the college can be displaced only by compelling educational reasons? I can tell him now that no such reasons exist.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Mr. Bob Dunn)

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury (Mr. Whitfield) on obtaining the Adjournment debate about the future of Wheelwright sixth form college in his constituency. I am pleased to be able to reply to him. He spoke tonight about a subject which is of immediate interest in his constituency, but which is nevertheless representative of an issue that faces most areas as the school population declines. In doing so, he has shown the active and diligent way in which he represents his constituents' interests.

My hon. Friend spoke of the proposal by the Kirklees local education authority to reorganise provision for the education of 16 to 19-year-olds in Dewsbury in a tertiary college, and to close the Wheelwright sixth form college as part of that proposal. I shall come to that in a moment, but, before I do so, there are a number of important educational and financial considerations that underlie the closure of any school which must be considered. In the limited time available to me, I shall try to say something about them and to outline the particular considerations that apply to secondary education and especially to education for 16 to 19-year-olds.

With regard to Wheelwright college, my hon. Friend will have noted that I was careful to refer to the local education authority's proposal to close it. There are detailed procedures enshrined in law that must be observed before any school can be closed — and a sixth form college is a school within the legal definition. In the present case, those legal procedures have already been set in hand, and I shall need, therefore, to be circumspect in what I say in relation to the merits of the proposals. I am sure that my hon. Friend will appreciate why that is so. Before I go further, I should perhaps outline the statutory procedures that are set out in section 12 of the Education Act 1980. When a local education authority decides that it wishes to cease to maintain a school, it must publish locally notices of what it is proposing and submit the proposals to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. There then follows a two-month period when objections may be submitted to the local education authority. Those who have a statutory right to object are defined in the Act 320 as 10 or more local government electors, the governors of any voluntary school and any local education authority that might be affected by the proposals.

If there are objections, the authority must send them to my right hon. Friend within one month of the expiry of the notices with its observations, and my right hon. Friend must then consider the proposals on their merits and make his decision accordingly. If there are no objections—that is not the case in Dewsbury—the authority may in the case of county schools determine to implement the proposals without reference to my right hon. Friend unless he has informed the authority that he wishes to decide the proposals irrespective of whether objections have been made. In the case of Wheelwright college, he did in fact call in the proposals, as he normally does where a change is proposed in the pattern of provision for 16 to 19-yearolds.

I have taken careful note of all that has been said tonight about the proposals for Wheelwright college—as indeed I have of my hon. Friend's previous correspondence with me on this matter and of correspondence from others. But it would not be right for me to make any comment about its future at the moment. Proposals under section 12 to cease to maintain the college were published on 20 September. We are therefore still in the two-month period in which objections may be lodged. My right hon. Friend will hear from the local education authority before Christmas of any objections submitted and of the authority's observations on those objections. He will then need to consider all that has been said and to act in a quasi-judicial role. That is why I must take care tonight that I do not say anything which would prejudice my right hon. Friend's decision.

Naturally, when my right hon. Friend considers proposals before him, he must take account of all the relevant factors. Those factors include the educational and financial merits of the proposals, the statutory objections and the local education authority's comments upon them; and his general policies on education as set out for instance in circulars 2/80, 2/81 and 4/82. In addition, representations are sometimes made for the proposals, and those, too, would be taken into account. I stress that my right hon. Friend's decision is taken only after the most careful consideration of all the relevant issues.

Perhaps I should say a word or two about the general considerations that arise in relation to 16 to 19 education. There are, of course, several different options available to a local education authority. They include sixth forms in secondary schools; co-operative arrangements between two or more schools at sixth form level, with or without the involvement of a further education college ; or a break at 16 with sixth form colleges such as Wheelwright; or with tertiary colleges such as the Kirklees local education authority has in mind here.

Authorities may decide to adopt any of those patterns throughout their area, or they may choose to provide varying patterns of provision in different areas. All that is a matter for local decision within the statutory framework which I have already described. It is for local education authorities, in consultation with the governors in the case of voluntary-aided and special agreement schools, to decide whet pattern best suits their local circumstances and the preferences of parents. My right hon. Friend has made clear his belief that no pattern has in itself overriding advantages or disadvantages of principle; and that he sees no inherent merit in authorities adopting a uniform pattern 321 for the whole of their area. What is important is that whatever pattern is chosen should maintain, and where possible improve, educational opportunities for the whole range of ability. My right hon. Friend also expects local education authorities to give the most careful consideration to the need to retain what is best and has proved its worth in their existing system of secondary education.

Finally, I repeat that the statutory period for the submission of objections to the proposals has not yet closed. When it does, the proposals will come before my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for decision. I am, of course, meeting my hon. Friend with a deputation from 322 Dewsbury on 4 December. I assure him and his constituents that all their arguments will be carefully considered by my right hon. Friend, along with the other considerations that arise, before he reaches his decision. At this stage, it would not be right for me to offer an opinion in case I should be thought to be prejudicing that decision.

I end by congratulating my hon. Friend once again on his success in obtaining this debate, and on placing on record so carefully his views about this proposal.