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11
May 2023
Rossett School to meet parents to discuss sixth form merger concerns
Rossett School leaders are to meet parents next week to discuss concerns about the sixth form merger with Harrogate Grammar School.
Students planning to join Rossett sixth form in autumn were informed last week they will be taught at nearby Harrogate Grammar School instead. Current Rossett sixth form students are unaffected.
The move took pupils and parents by surprise, with some questioning why they weren't consulted and unhappy at the potential disruption.
About 65 Rossett students will be affected and school leaders held a media briefing yesterday to provide more details about the merger and the reasoning behind it. They revealed:
- The number of sixth form students at Harrogate Grammar School is expected to remain at about 650 despite the influx of Rossett students because "grade inflation" caused by covid is expected to ease, thus reducing the number of eligible students.
- Sixth form students will attend all their lessons at Harrogate Grammar School but teachers will move between the two schools.
- Rossett's former sixth form buildings will be used as a teacher recruitment and training hub by the Red Kite Learning Trust. Rossett is due to become the trust's 14th school in September. Harrogate Grammar School already belongs to it.
Richard Sheriff, chief executive of the trust, said collaborative sixth forms were a proven model in Harrogate, citing St Aidan's Church of England High School and St John Fisher Catholic High School.
Mr Sheriff added there had been a long-term vision for Rossett and Harrogate Grammar School to collaborate more closely and the merger would not only achieve this but also improve education for students.
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He said better children's outcomes was the main driver for change but acknowledged cost was also "absolutely part of this".
Rossett's income, which is based on student numbers, has decreased significantly in recent years due to pupil numbers falling by roughly a third from 1,500 to 1,000.
Mr Sheriff said the decline in pupil numbers was due to fewer students from Leeds attending because of higher bus fares and improved schools in Leeds as well as Rossett's 'requires improvement' rating by schools inspector Ofsted.
He said the Ofsted assessment "weighed heavily" on Rossett and the merger would demonstrate the school's commitment to improve.
Mr Sheriff added building a new joint sixth form building was a long-term dream. He said:
'We have to be realistic'
Rossett consulted with governors about the merger but not parents — why not? Mr Sheriff said:
Harrogate Grammar School
Tim Milburn, who will formally take up the headteacher's role at Rossett in September after previously being deputy headteacher at Harrogate Grammar School, hopes next week's meeting will reassure parents. He said:
What about special needs students that might be particularly anxious about the unwanted change of environment?
Pete Saunders, the current acting headteacher at Rossett, said:
Mr Saunders added another advantage of the move is that Rossett sixth formers will be able to take advantage of Harrogate Grammar School's broader curriculum, which includes subjects such as medical science that otherwise would not be available.
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