Redland Green Produces 82 Disappointed Families

As parents across Bristol learn today which state secondary school

their Year Six child has been allocated, at least 82 families will be

facing the disappointment of not receiving a place at Redland Green

School.

The state secondary received 281 applications from

parents who placed it as the top choice for their son or daughter for this September's entry. The school has only 189 Year Seven places available.

Although it was

initially hoped that the school, which opened in 2006, would serve

families from across north Bristol, it soon became clear that demand

would outstrip supply of places by a considerable margin. In 2008, for

instance, 688 families applied for a Year Seven place at Redland Green School. 343 of

these applicants listed the school as their first choice.

The

City Council subsequently reduced the size of the school's Area of

First Priority (commonly referred to as the "catchment area"), effectively

excluding families from Westbury-on-Trym and Stoke Bishop. Figures

released by the council revealed that, despite this smaller catchment area, 87

families who lived within it were unsuccessful in their application to

Redland Green School in 2008.

The

movement of families into the new, smaller catchment area - a map of

which can be viewed here - has resulted in a local house price bubble

in Redland, which has bucked the trend of falling prices nationally.

As revealed previously on Redland People, a semi-detached house in

Redland Court Road sold last autumn for £530,000.

Today's figures - which do not yet

have a geographical breakdown - at least reveal that the number of

failed applicants seems to be decreasing.

Which is presumably of little comfort for at least 82 local families.