(a)  Mr Andrew Taylor, Tranmere Hall Estate Residents Association, addressed the meeting. He referred to the significant responsibilities associated with the running of a large school and in overseeing the design and building of the academy and commented that Mr Hughes had no experience in this field.  He also expressed his concern that Mr Hughes had refused meet with residents associations and ward councillors to discuss planning and highway issues associated with the proposed new building on the Shaftesbury Youth Club site. He suggested that the use of the playing field for sports activities would be a more legitimate use of this site.

Mr Taylor asked that Cabinet reconsider Mr Hughes’ involvement in the proposal as lead sponsor and suggested that there was a potential list of organisations that would be prepared to act as sponsors to the Academy and fulfil this role more effectively.

(b)  Mrs June Foster, Mount Estate Residents Association, addressed the meeting and endorsed Mr Taylor’s reservations regarding Mr Hughes’ role as lead sponsor of the proposed Academy.

(c)  Mrs Sally Reynolds, Chair of Governors Ridgeway High School, addressed the meeting. She stated that the governors had embraced the principle of academies to enhance the education of children in Birkenhead but shared the concerns of parents, pupils, staff, and the local community regarding the impact of the current proposals in diluting the achievements of Ridgeway High School. She highlighted the progress which had been made year upon year in terms of educational attainment which demonstrated that it was a proven successful forward thinking school with a family orientated approach.

(d)  Councillor Stuart Kelly addressed the meeting.  He referred to the Open Roll situation and its consequences in terms of the impact of falling rolls in the primary sector, vacancy rates in Birkenhead schools, and the cost of maintaining empty places. He also acknowledged the need to improve achievement and standards in some of the poorer performing schools.

Councillor Kelly expressed his concern that there were no other alternative options to the current two Academy proposals and highlighted the need for a more open and transparent consultation process to test the potential market for any schools, establish the viability of a boys only school, and bring forward all viable options for consideration by Cabinet. He emphasised that Ridgeway was the best performing school of the three schools affected by the Academy proposals and it should not therefore be closed.

(e)  Andrea Bryant, Ridgeway parent, addressed the meeting. She paid tribute to the school for its many achievements and excellent reputation which had been experienced by both family and friends and commented that this was always her first choice secondary school. She described her daughter’s experience as a year 7 pupil and thanked the staff for their enthusiasm, hard work and dedication in creating a successful learning environment. She also commented that the Academies’ projected examination targets were quite poor when compared with Ridgeway’s current achievements.

Mrs Bryant commented on the viability of the proposed Boys Academy.  She reported that that both Mosslands and Pensby Boys School were currently undersubscribed and this had supported her view that Birkenhead parents would not choose to send their boys to a new single sex secondary school. 

(f)  Julie Forshaw, a parent and member of the Ridgeway Community Association, addressed the meeting. She reported that a petition, containing 3,500 signatures, had been gathered expressing the community’s opposition to the proposed closure of Ridgeway High School.  She referred to the consequences in terms of the loss of education and community facilities, the effect on local businesses, and the removal of parental choice. 

She commented that children entering Ridgeway have a high chance of success, as demonstrated by her daughter who had gained a university place and was now involved in mentoring children with a similar background to herself. 

(g)  A letter setting out the views of Megan Shaw, a current Year 11 pupil at Ridgeway, was read out to the committee. In her opinion “Ridgeway was a great school with a wide range of educational and fun clubs. The school had received an outstanding Ofsted Report and it was achieving very good examination results. It was an outstanding school and should not be closed.”

(h)  Mr W Chan, English Teacher at Ridgeway High School, addressed the meeting. He highlighted Ridgeway’s many achievements and commented that their success was due to inspired leadership, committed staff and the relationships forged with pupils on a daily basis. He commented that the school was well established with a good record in developing new innovate methods to “narrow the gap” in educational achievement and it was also an integral part of the local community.  He therefore could see no reason to change a school that was working extremely well and exceeding its targets each year.

(i)  Mr G Hogben, Chair of Governors of Park High School, addressed the meeting.  He reported that his governing body was clear and unanimous in their support for the proposals and had particularly noted the following issues:-

-  The forecast spare capacity of 35%of places if no action is taken

-  The limits imposed by the District Auditor of no more than 10% surplus places

-  The impact of the new girl’s academy at Birkenhead High school for Girls in conjunction with Prenton Girls School meant that other co-educational schools would have a substantial gender imbalance in favour of boys.

-  The data on pupils’ home addresses strongly supports the creation of an Academy in central Birkenhead

The governors acknowledged the need for change in the light falling rolls and the potential consequences for all 3 schools, and supported the Academy proposals because they provided an alternative future for education in Birkenhead and the commitment of significant finance from central government to bring it about.