§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the number of employees in his Department, and their total salary costs, who are engaged in(a) liaison with the Grant Maintained Schools Centre, (b) providing 266W information to prospective grant-maintained schools and (c) questions concerning ballots in schools seeking grant-maintained status.
§ Mr. ForthLiaison with the Grant Maintained Schools Centre occupies in aggregate about one full-time equivalent—FTE—at a cost of some £20,000 this year; providing information to prospective grant-maintained schools about six FTE at a cost of some £105,000; arid questions concerning ballots about five FTE at a cost of some £102,000. In addition the staff concerned are able o draw when required on the services of the Department's professional staff—including lawyers and information officers.
§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list those schools which on achieving grant-maintained status or since have applied to him to change their admissions policy to allow some form of selection on the basis of ability or aptitude in any part of the curriculum.
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§ Mr. ForthThe following schools have applied for and had approved admission arrangements which involve the selection of 10 per cent. or less of pupils on the basis of their aptitude in music, sport, art or drama:
- King's School, Peterborough
- Westland High School, Kent
- Bishop's Stortford School, Hertfordshire
- Heathside School, Surrey
- Langley Park School for Boys, Bromley
- Beaverwood School, Bromley
- Dame Alice Owen School, Hertfordshire
This list does not include those schools which have published statutory proposals for a significant change in character; none of the proposals involving selection have so far been approved.
§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many occasions head teachers of grant-maintained schools have been paid by his Department to attend meetings at schools which were considering whether to have a ballot for grant-maintained status.
§ Mr. ForthThe Department does not pay head teachers of grant-maintained schools to attend meetings at prospective grant-maintained schools.