HC Deb 08 December 1978 vol 959 cc176-7W
Mr. Ovenden

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when her Department received the proposals from Kent county council concerning changes to the educational system in Gravesham; what meetings have taken place since then; on what dates; and what replies have been sent to the authority.

Miss Margaret Jackson:

My right hon. Friend received from the Kent education authority outline proposals for giving effect to the general principle of comprehensive secondary education in all areas of the county, including Gravesham, during July and August 1977. The authority's proposals for Gravesham aimed at retaining unchanged the present local system of selecting pupils for entry to county upper schools by reference to their ability at the age of 13-plus. On 4th August 1977, my Department informed the authority that my right hon. Friend did not consider its Gravesham proposals an acceptable means of giving effect to the comprehensive principle, and asked the authority to submit revised proposals for that purpose. On 21st November 1977 my right hon. Friend received the authority's revised proposals. These proposals also aim at retaining the local system of upper schools, but with the new proposal that, under the revised proposals, parents would have an"absolute"right to transfer their child to an upper school at 13-plus, without reference to his ability. These revised proposals are being considered by my Department.

None of the outline proposals submitted by the authority to my right hon. Friend between July and November 1977 was accompanied by any detailed supporting information. With a view to obtaining this necessary information from the authority, my officials therefore arranged, with Her Majesty's inspectors, in December 1977, a series of discussions with the authority's officers, including visits to the sites of all the 135 unreorganised secondary schools in the county. In the course of these discussions, my officials visited the Gravesham schools on 19th October 1978, and on 30th October 1978 wrote again to the authority setting out in detail what information my right hon. Friend will need from the authority in order to reach her decision on the Gravesham proposals.

On 8th November 1978, my right hon. Friend and I met members of the authority to discuss their reorganisation proposals for the county generally. At that meeting, we emphasised the need for the outstanding Gravesham information to be submitted quickly, and the authority undertook to send us this information shortly.

My right hon. Friend will reach her decision on the Gravesham proposals as soon as this information has been received and considered.

University or college Student numbers Students as a percentage of total full-time and part-time students
Aston … … 339 5.9
Bath … … 277 7.3
Birmingham … … 481 5.2
Bradford … … 318 6.1
Bristol … … 486 6.7
Brunei … … 948 27.1
Cambridge … … 958 8.0
City … … 428 13.6
Durham … … 224 4.9
East Anglia … … 97 2.6
Essex … … 120 4.3
Exeter … … 526 10.9
Hull … … 332 6.3
Keele … … 423 14.5
Kent … … 179 4.6
Lancaster … … 287 6.1
Leeds … … 739 6.9
Leicester … … 654 13.9
Liverpool … … 542 6.9
London Graduate School of Business Studies … … 12 5.3
London University … … 7,429 16.0
Loughborough … … 316 5.8
Manchester Business School. … … 7 4.5
Manchester … … 858 7.4
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology … … 131 3.4
Newcastle … … 441 5.7
Nottingham … … 556 8.0
Oxford … … 1,154 8.7
Reading … … 336 5.6