§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what(a) environmental assessment and (b) assessment of the traffic implications she has made with respect to the specialisation of secondary schools in rural areas. 166780]
§ Mr. Miliband[holding answer 4 July 2002]: No assessment has been made of environmental or traffic implications of specialisation for secondary schools in rural areas. We do not expect specialist school designation to have a significant impact on transport in rural areas. Specialist school designation is about raising standards of achievement across the whole school. Specialist schools enrich the learning opportunities and broaden the range of courses in their designated specialism, but they continue to teach a broad and balanced curriculum and meet the needs of all their pupils.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the extent of specialisation of secondary schools in rural areas. [66785]
§ Mr. Miliband[holding answer 4 July 2002]: Of the 992 specialist schools to be operational from September this year, 21 (2.1 per cent.) are located in areas defined in the Register of Educational Establishments as mixed, predominantly rural or wholly rural areas. This compares with 2.8 per cent. of secondary schools nationally.
From October 2002, in order to assist small mainstream schools (many of them in rural areas) with their specialist school applications we have reduced the sponsorship requirement. Those with under 500 pupils on roll will have to raise sponsorship on the basis of £100 per pupil. subject to a minimum of £20,000.