Bishop tries to break schools deadlock

SOME schools are digging in their heels in the stalemate over the reorganisation of Catholic secondary schools in central London.
The impasse affects the "Division One" sector of Westminster Archdiocese, which falls in the Inner London Education Authority area. The problems to be faced are shared by many other inner-city schools.
The ILEA county schools have reorganised in order to deal with the fall in numbers of pupils, and the re-formed schools are to start operation in September. But Catholic Division One schools are still deadlocked in negotiations over which schools are to close, which are to be reduced and which are to go coeducational.
In an attempt to break the stalemate,
Bishop David Konstant, chairman of the Education Commission, has proposed a new group to hammer out the differences. It is to be made up of chairmen of school governors, head teachers, a member of each school's staff, a parent from each school and a chairman to be appointed by the bishop.
But already one headmaster has said that he would not like to take part in further discussions, because after more than two years of negotiations no progress has been made.
Under proposals circulated by Bishop Konstant in 1980; out of the seven schools involved one would have its size reduced and the other six would amalgamate in pairs to give a new mixed school and two single-sex schools. Amalgamation could
in practice mean the closure of one school of the pair.
Up until now. the diocese has been trying to get agreement among head teachers and governors over reductions and amalgamations. As part of new efforts to reach a settlement, Bishop Konstant has proposed that he should step into the background temporarily. "I believe it would be helpful if at this stage I were to remain in the background and were to invite someone from outside the division to chair the group."
The Bishop said in a letter to interested parties: "It appears that information is not always adequately conveyed and that there is a desire to meet more frequently than has been the case up till now."
One school that believes there is no
future in discussions is the London Oratory School. It is not controlled by diocesan authorities. Its governors are appointed by the school trustees who are the Fathers of the London Oratory and, although it wishes to participate in diocesan education planning, it is refusing to reduce its intake from six forms a year to five.
Headmaster Mr John McIntosh commented this week: "Our governors have made a decision and haven't moved from that decision of two years ago. Five-form entry is out of the question and six forms of entry as a mixed school is even more out of the question."
He added: "From our point of view, six-form entry entry is a sine qua non for having a good sixth form with facilities for those doing A levels and others."