    GRAHAM TUTTHILL, chief reporter of the Dover Extra, has been reporting on education matters in the area for the past 25 years and has seen re-organisation plans come ... and go.
    A former Dover Grammar School pupil, he has taken a close interest in the development of local schools.
    In this special report, he looks at the uncertainties now facing the two grammar schools.

    AT the heart of the grammar school predicament is the problem of finance.
    Under local management and formula funding, schools are allocated money depending on the number of pupils they have, with more received for sixth formers.
    As a result, schools, have openly advertised, for students, particularly, for A-level courses.
    Most of the year's money - about 80 per cent - goes on staffing.
    If money is short, the first cuts that are likely to made will be among teaching staff.

    Further problems result from the drop in the birth rate and Kent's selection procedure.
    The combination of these factors means that both Dover grammar schools receive fewer pupils and therefore less money.
    Meanwhile, with Castlemount closing, the remaining high schools have greater numbers of pupils - and thus receive more funds.
    Extra money given to smaller schools to ensure they are able to offer a full curriculum is being phased out.
    And the schools are left to face the consequences.

    PARENTS whose children go to secondary schools next September have been baffled by the selection procedure, despite explanations from the education authority.
    Confusion particularly surrounds the reasoning tests which all children take in January, and which are used by the authority to give each school a profile.
    After the test, each child is given a mark. But because the test is anonymous, the mark the child receives may not be the one he or she actually scores.
    Headteachers at the primary schools rank each fourth-year pupil in English and maths. They also give an overall ranking Once marks from the test are received, the top mark is given to the pupil who is ranked top by the headteacher. The second mark goes to the pupil ranked second, and so on.
    This procedure is designed to standardise selection across the county.

    The final marks are referred to a selection panel which, taking into account the parents' and headteacher's recommendations, decide whether a child should go to a grammar or high school.
    Parents have rights of. appeal against the decision.
    Parental choice is very much a keyword of the procedure, both in terms of the type of secondary school they want their children to go to, and the actual school. But the choice can be very limited.
    In Dover, parents who wanted to choose St Edmund's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School - which seeks children of all abilities - had to apply by November 30 for a place. In some cases that was before they had been able to discuss selection with the primary school head.
    Those who have not applied for St Edmund's, and whose children are not ultimately selected for grammar school, will probably' be choosing between Astor and Archers Court. If it turns out that a child is wrongly assessed, transfers can be arranged later.
    Parents can submit children for individual assessment tests at the grammar schools, when the schools - not the authority decide who to admit.

Dover Girls' Grammar School: Sixth form plans scrapped

    CONCERN is growing among those involved in education in Dover about future plans for the two grammar schools.
    While maintaining their professionalism and providing the best education for the children in their care, the staff at both schools are privately very worried about the changes that are being proposed.
    Because of their position, the teachers feel unable publicly to voice their concerns, But they have told me of the fears they have.

    There has been talk for more than a year now about the possible merger of the two grammar schools. While the staff would ideally like to remain separate, they recognise there could be advantages in uniting to make one school.
    But the two main questions are where and who pays for it?
    The current proposal that the boys grammar, school should move to the Castlemount site once Castlemount closes next July, could be the first step.
    The boys would be nearer to the girls school making a merger of the sixth forms easier.
    But there may be more, to it than that.
    One consequence of such a move would be that the boys' present building then becomes available for Astor School to move into.
    Astor, which has been operating on a split site for many years, has been putting increasing pressure on Kent Education Committee to move to one site.
    Astor already has more than 1,000 pupils and is expected to peak at 1,500 during the next few years. Keeping them, their parents and staff happy would be a bonus for the authority.
    But what about the grammar schools?
    In the past the KEC has made several offers. A few years ago, plans were drawn up for the demolition of the sixth form house at the rear of the girls school so that a new sixth form block could be built. At the last minute the plan was scrapped.

    Within the past 12 months, the authority offered to build a completely new school so that the two grammar 'schools could combine.
    This would mean a much more viable unit on a new site - the Kearsney camp site was one suggestion - able to offer a wide curriculum to all ages, especially the sixth form.
    But that plan, too, appears to have been dropped. It would have been financed from the sale of the vacated school buildings, and the slump in the property market is given as the main reason for it being shelved.
    There are those who fear that it could happen again.

If the boys school moves to Castlemount, there might be a promise of new development, perhaps a new sixth form block, and possibly even a new building to accommodate a completely new co-educational grammar school:
But once the move takes place, and Astor has its single site, will the money for such development still be there? Or will the grammar school teachers, backed by the goodwill and fund-raising efforts of the parents, be left to cope on their own?

And how long will it be before one school or the other - depending on whether the move goes ahead ,- applies to opt out and seeks grant-maintained status?
KEC needs to give some firm assurances, and sweep away the fears and doubts which are afflicting our schools at the moment.

A PANEL led by chairman of the governors Amelia Williamson will meet on Monday to choose a new headteacher for the Girls' 'Grammar School.

Heading the panel: Amelia Williamson.

    Representatives of the governors and the education authority have already drawn up a shortlist, believed to consist of four candidates.
    The rest of the school staff, already concerned about the future, will be eagerly awaiting the result.
    Whoever is chosen will have to lead the school through a difficult period.
    As usual, details of some of those on the shortlist have leaked out. The staff, who have no say in the appointment, are apprehensive.
    They will be hoping for a head who will put the school's interests and the welfare of the pupils and staff above personal ambition. They will be looking for someone to support them as they face the uncertainties that lie ahead.
    The person who gets the job will need to be someone the staff can respect and look to for positive leadership.

Dover Boys' Grammar School: May move to Castlemount site.

A FORMER teacher at the Dover Boys' Grammar School is asking Prime Minister John Major and Education Secretary Kenneth Clarke to prevent the possible moving of the school to a different site.

Kenneth Clarke,

written to by Mr Smith

John Major:

His help is wanted

    Maurice Smith, of Minnis Lane, River, taught at the school for 30 years and was well respected as senior master there. He took early retirement in July last year because a drop in the number of pupils made staff cuts essential.
    Mr Smith has written to Mr Major and Mr Clarke outlining the situation now faced by the school, and the effect the proposed move to the Castlemount site could have on its future.
    He fears that with further loss of finance, the school will need to lose more staff, perhaps as many as seven, next year. This, in turn, will adversely affect the curriculum the school is able to deliver, particularly in the sixth form.
    We have heard recently by contrast with almost all comparable nations, fewer of our pupils nationally stay in education beyond the age of 16," he said.
    "Clearly this situation will worsen in our case if we lose staffing on this scale. Where will future prime ministers and captains of industry come from?
    "An amalgamation of the sixth forms at the two grammar schools has been suggested and this idea has some acceptance by staff, governors and parents, but where might such a combined form be located?
    "It is probably not feasible at the present girls' school and while it is possible at the boys' school we are told that there is no money available for any building except by the sale of other assets."
    On the proposal to move the boys' school to Castlemount, Mr Smith points out that the Castlemount buildings, now 16 years old, are beginning to show signs of age and do not afford many of the facilities available at the boys' school.
    He said: "Our school was founded in 1905. The headmaster from 1905 to 1937 was Mr Fred Whitehouse, a dynamic character who, against the background of the depression in the 20s and 30s, succeeded in having the present school built.
    It is a building of dignity, having a fine hall with a pipe organ donated by old boys in 1932. It is true to say that the spirit of a school is not its building, but in the current generation of pupils, staff, parents and governors,"

    But he also records that over the past 60 years, much love, dedication and service has been lavished on the present building - mainly by staff and pupils - to make it appropriate for the needs of the boys. The building would stand for another 60 years.
    "So much damage to morale has been done by recent secretaries of state by tarring all teachers with the same brush, Schools are built on loyalty, dedication and service.
    "At this time there is little, if any, humanity in the administration of education either by government or the local education authority."
    Mr Smith is concerned that if the school is moved - purely for financial reasons - it will lose all its playing fields, a swimming pool, the organ, and well developed workshops and laboratories. "We gain nothing in terms of facilities," he said.

    Maintenance at the building has been largely neglected over the last 16 years by the county council, anxious to keep the rates down.
    A new co-educational purpose-designed grammar school might be acceptable, but if that is not possible Mr Smith is asking the government to give financial help to the school to protect its sixth form curriculum.
    "Our country desperately needs the sort of young man this school produces."
    Mr Smith says he hopes the Prime 'Minister and Education Secretary will intervene to save a fine school.