§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was raised in sponsorship by each specialist school since its year of designation. [19240]
§ Mr. TimmsThere are no specific requirements for specialist schools to raise sponsorship after designation and we do not keep any records about this.
85W
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what is the average(a) pupil-teacher ratio in secondary schools in England and (b) pupil-teacher ratio for specialist schools.[19241]
§ Mr. TimmsThe pupil-teacher ratio in maintained secondary schools as at January 2001 was 17.1.
The equivalent figure for maintained secondary specialist schools was 16.9.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the various means of selection used by those specialist schools which select a proportion of their intake; and what advice has been given by her Department on the means of selection which may be used. [19242]
§ Mr. TimmsWe do not hold information on the means of selection. Admission arrangements are set locally by a school's admission authority (local education authorities for community and controlled schools, and the governing
Specialist schools: selection by aptitude Specialism School LEA Percentage Technology Archbishop Blanch School Liverpool 5.6 Technology Archbishop Temple School Lancashire 10.0 Language Bohunt School Hampshire 10.0 Arts Brentwood Ursuline Convent School Essex 10.0 Technology Chaucer Technology School Kent Up to 100 Arts Chestnut Grove School Wandsworth 16.0 Technology Cornwallis School Kent 10.0 Technology Deacon's School Peterborough, City 15.0 Technology George Spencer GM School Nottinghamshire 10.0 Technology Heathside School Surrey 4.0 Language Hockerill Anglo European School Hertfordshire 10.0 Arts Intake High School Leeds 10.0 Technology Lodge Park School Northamptonshire 10.0 Technology Lynn Grove VA High School Norfolk 15.0 Technology Mill Hill County High School Barnet, London borough of 10.0 Technology Ninestiles School Birmingham 10.0 Sports Oakbank School Bradford 10.0 Sports Oldfield School Bath and North East Somerset 10.0 Technology Philip Morant School Essex 15.0 Technology Sandwich Technology School Kent 10.0 Technology Small Heath School Birmingham 10.0 Technology St. Margaret's C of E High School Liverpool 15.0 Technology St. Martin's School Essex 10.0 Arts St. Marylebone School (The) Westminster 10.0 Sports Wye Valley School (The) Buckinghamshire 10.0 Notes:
This information was taken from progress reports submitted by 403 schools in December 2000. Progress reports for schools operational as of September 2000 are currently being received but the information from these has not yet been collated.
The 1998 School Standards and Framework Act provides for schools with a specialism to select up to 10 per cent. of their intake on the basis of aptitude for a specialist subject prescribed in regulations. Prior to the 1998 Act schools had greater discretion over aptitude selection and this accounts for the percentages above 10 per cent.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many specialist schools(a) allow primary schools to use their facilities and (b) provide specialist teaching in neighbouring primary schools. [19245]
§ Mr. TimmsWe do not hold collective records of specialist school involvement with primary schools under these headings. However, all specialist schools have arrangements with primary schools whereby the latter benefit from use of the specialist school's facilities or staff time or both.
86Wbody for aided and foundation schools), and this includes deciding how children will be tested for their aptitude for a particular subject. My Department's code of practice on school admissions (1999) advises that:
tests used to identify whether a pupil has aptitude for a particular subject should be objective, have a distinctive subject focus, should not discriminate against applicants on the grounds of gender, ethnic origin, disability or family background, and that they must test for the subject aptitude concerned, not for any other aptitude or for ability".
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list those specialist schools which select a proportion of their pupils by aptitude for their specialist subjects; and what percentage of pupils is so selected in each school. [19243]
§ Mr. TimmsThe latest available information is for school year 1999–2000. For that year, specialist schools which had selected a proportion of their pupils by aptitude for a subject or subjects relevant to their specialist designation, together with the percentage of pupils selected in each school, is shown in the table.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many specialist schools allow their local community to have free use of the specialist facilities. [19244]
§ Mr. TimmsWe expect every specialist school to have arrangements whereby some members of the local community benefit from the use of some of the school's facilities. We do not collect data on the ways in which this expectation is realised.