A new round of talks on grammar futures

Back to the drawing board for controversial school plan

    KENT Education Committee has decided to start another round of consultations about the two Dover grammar schools merging and moving to the empty Castlemount school. Other options will also be considered.
    There will now follow months of meetings with governors, teachers, and parents about the controversial proposal which, if it goes ahead, will see £5.5 million spent on new buildings at Castlemount which has stood empty for nearly two years.
    If a merged co-educational grammar school does move into Castlemount the earliest date is likely to be 1996, Astor will take over the present boys' grammar school while the girls' school in Frith Road would be sold, for about £330,000.
    Neil Slater, head teacher at the boys' grammar school has already spoken out against the move to Castlemount, while Astor's head Chris Russell says the education authorities are giving Dover the opportunity of strong viable schools in good accommodation.
    That too is the view of John Barnes, chairman of the boys' grammar school.
    County councillors at Maidstone on Monday were told the two separate grammar schools are currently "under some strain" in providing the basic sixth form curriculum.
    Area director Neil Mullett told them it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the existing co-operation between the two grammar schools because of the inability of the boys' school to meet the financial costs.
    The cost of teaching at the girls' school for the boys in the sixth form was put by Mr Mullett at between £25,000 and £50,000 this year. In addition, he said, the boys' school had an expected overspend this year of £20,000.
    A shuttle bus was being provided for students to move between the two schools and this was costing this year £20,000, he said. Projected budgets, based on the number of students expected, put before the county councillors showed an annual spend at the girls school until 1996/97 of just over £1.1 million and ranging from £938,860 to just over a million pounds at the boys' school during the same years.
    One of the options that will be put to the public, during the round of consultations, is that a merged grammar school could be established at disused Nonington College, the former teacher training college that closed in the mid 1980s.
    But the college is ten miles from Dover and officials point out this would mean up to 900 girls and boys getting there by bus or car, at an annual cost of around £270,000. At present 328 students are transported daily to the two grammar schools at £98,400.