| Our campaign has been active for 3 years although there is a 30-year history of campaigns for a secondary school in this area. Local education provision for our children effectively stops at the age of 10, and children find themselves competing for places at schools miles away from their own community. Moreover, these schools are now oversubscribed - everyone knows someone who has moved out of the area for the sole reason that the secondary school prospects for their children are bleak.
The story of our campaign is essentially about a group of parents trying to tackle educational inequality at a local level, but its implications affect us all.
It started with a petition that gathered 2000 signatures. We've had pieces in The Guardian, and TES, been on BBC Radio 4 The Learning Curve, and had stacks of local coverage in The Camden New Journal and significant support of local residents and parents.
The campaign quickly gathered momentum and has the support of local councillors, and MP. Frank Dobson. However this is a parent-led campaign, focussed not just on the shortage of places in Camden schools but also on the need for a school for our community. This includes all the children of our neighbourhood, and does not stop at the borough boundaries.
The area of Camden south of Euston Rd has a population of 31,000, five primary schools and no secondary school. Since state secondary schools admit children starting with those who live closest to the school those of us who live this far from any school will always be last in line for a place.
If schools are popular, as Camden schools are, then we have no chance of a place. People in our community will only be offered places at undersubscribed (less popular) schools that may be 3 miles away and in another borough. The exception to this will be church going Christians, who are given priority in church schools regardless of distance. This means that a class of 28 at primary school can end up in 10 or more different schools and that, because of the Westminster church schools, and bearing in mind that ours is a predominantly Muslim population, divisions often run along lines of class race and religion.
The argument for a local school is both a mathematical one (we have 10% of the borough's children, the borough has nine secondaries, we need a 10th) and, importantly, an argument for social cohesion - in order to function together as young adults our children need to be educated together at the heart of the community where a school is a resource for everyone, young and old.
Currently government policy favours the idea that 'choice' is more important than local education, the idea that we can shop around for the 'best 'school and our children can commute to it. Choice is simply not a reality for the majority of parents. We believe that there should be a good local school for every child, even if this means building more, smaller secondaries.
Camden is about to receive millions from the government under ' Building Schools for The Future' but, having claimed there is no site for a school in our area, are planning to build an academy, sponsored by UCL, 3 miles away in Swiss Cottage and close to existing secondary schools. Our campaign has now found a local, council owned site, done a preliminary feasibility study and presented it to the council. Ed Balls has pledged extra money for another school in Camden but the council is still trying to wriggle out of its responsibility to build one, because it doesn't want to alter its BSF plan. It comes down to politics, and after 3 years of campaigning and negotiating we are deeply frustrated, but, of course, we will never give up.
Our children to go to secondary school with the same children they live near and go to primary school with. A school that reflects the character and population of the area we live in - culturally diverse and inclusive.
We believe that every child deserves a place at a good local secondary school, and that good local schools help build stronger communities.
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