Having listened back to the BBC Three Counties interview with the Vice
Chair of Stoke Poges Parish Council I was dismayed by the sheer lack of
knowledge put forward. I am really hoping that this person was not
trying to manipulate the truth and lie, I would
prefer to put it down as a misconception or oversight but I will let you
decide for yourself.
The show itself is available to be listened back to via this link until Monday 8 July, 2013.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019y8t0
In the short interview, she mentioned that:
Just in case there is any doubt and to clear up any misunderstandings.
1) All Children from West London and Slough do not get home/school transport fee's paid.
Only those children in Slough who live further than 3 miles from the school who are on low income and who chose a religious school, will be entitled to free transport.
In other words they would have to satisfy the same criteria as those who get free meals (http://www.slough.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/free-school-meals.aspx).
2) I have been in touch with the school office and can honestly say that the school does NOT include just Sikh children, the first year seven intake includes children from a number of non-Sikh families and at least 10% of the first year intake is represented by non-Sikhs. Not only that a number of teachers, including the head-teacher, governors and trustee's of the school are non-Sikh.
3) A thousand cars will not drive into Stoke Poges as was stated in the interview.
We as parents will pay for transport by using a coach pick up service which is being implemented to ensure that there is a minimal impact of traffic on the local village. We do not have to do this, however we are trying to be supportive of the villagers concerns.
4) As a member of the Parish Council, it is reasonable to assume they would at least have better knowledge of their own Parish. When leaving Pioneer House there is a pavement to the left going all the way into Stoke Poges village, much of this pavement is on both sides of the road.
We will be writing to the Parish council on the points above.
We encourage you to listen back to the interview, make up your own mind about what was said and it's effect and contact BBC Three Counties radio so that they are aware of the series of incorrect statements which were made on the Iain Lee show on Monday 1 July by Saera Carter, Vice Chair of Stoke Poges Parish Council.
You may contact the Radio station via this email address: 3crListenerComments@bbc.co.uk
The show itself is available to be listened back to via this link until Monday 8 July, 2013.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019y8t0
In the short interview, she mentioned that:
- All children from West London and Slough would get home/school transport fee's paid for them to attend Khalsa Secondary Academy.
- The school is full of just Sikh children.
- A thousand cars will drive into Stoke Poges to drop off pupils.
- There is no pavement on Hollybush Hill
Just in case there is any doubt and to clear up any misunderstandings.
1) All Children from West London and Slough do not get home/school transport fee's paid.
Only those children in Slough who live further than 3 miles from the school who are on low income and who chose a religious school, will be entitled to free transport.
In other words they would have to satisfy the same criteria as those who get free meals (http://www.slough.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/free-school-meals.aspx).
2) I have been in touch with the school office and can honestly say that the school does NOT include just Sikh children, the first year seven intake includes children from a number of non-Sikh families and at least 10% of the first year intake is represented by non-Sikhs. Not only that a number of teachers, including the head-teacher, governors and trustee's of the school are non-Sikh.
3) A thousand cars will not drive into Stoke Poges as was stated in the interview.
We as parents will pay for transport by using a coach pick up service which is being implemented to ensure that there is a minimal impact of traffic on the local village. We do not have to do this, however we are trying to be supportive of the villagers concerns.
4) As a member of the Parish Council, it is reasonable to assume they would at least have better knowledge of their own Parish. When leaving Pioneer House there is a pavement to the left going all the way into Stoke Poges village, much of this pavement is on both sides of the road.
We will be writing to the Parish council on the points above.
We encourage you to listen back to the interview, make up your own mind about what was said and it's effect and contact BBC Three Counties radio so that they are aware of the series of incorrect statements which were made on the Iain Lee show on Monday 1 July by Saera Carter, Vice Chair of Stoke Poges Parish Council.
You may contact the Radio station via this email address: 3crListenerComments@bbc.co.uk
Please can we remind all to keep any comments in relation to the topic of this specific blog post. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIn response to points 1 and 3, in addition to parents having to pay for all the sports curriculum (which is free at state school) parents are also going to be expected to pay for the home/school transport. This would not be the case if the school were to be located in Slough where it is required.
ReplyDeleteIn response to point 4, the transport plan proposed by the SSET in the planning application showed that pupils would not travel via the B146 through the centre of Stoke Poges to reach Pioneer House but via Wexham Street into Hollybush Hill. From this direction there is NO PAVEMENT to Pioneer House.
In response to point 2 the school was advertised as being 50% non-Sikh the fact it is only 10% non-Sikh highlights the fact that the Khalsa Secondary School was not made available to the Stoke Poges community and therefore cannot be classed as the community school it proclaims itself.
You are correct that there will not be 1000 cars travelling through Stoke Poges as you will be out of here in a year. :)
Yet again the SSET and their affiliates are manipulating the facts and attempting to tarnish the reputation and credibility of our hard-working Parish Representative who is only trying to convey the views of the village community. This debacle has united our village in opposition to this ludicrous plan.
Hi Becca,
DeleteAs a parent we have been provided other options in case we can not afford the enriched curriculum. However I am more than happy for my child to take part and the rates at which these activities are offered is much lower than if we wanted our child to take part in such sports outside of school.
I currently travel by car to drop off my child at the Primary school, with the secondary school there will be a pick up and drop off point within 5 minutes walk of our house which will save me around 45 minutes a day traveling to and from school twice in the rush hour.
You are correct, as far as I am aware the travel plan is for the bus route to use Wexham Street. The bus will travel into the school so there is no need for the children to walk on the road.
In the interview it was mentioned that there is no footpath at all on Hollybush Hill, whereas it is paved on both sides when turning left out of Pioneer House.
Becca, you seem to be unaware that coaches and any cars will be expected to drop off and collect within the grounds of the school where there is generous space. The Parish Council seem to have lost sight of this fact.
DeleteAs for the percentage of non-Sikhs, was the information with regard to admissions denied to local parents when it was published by Bucks Education department back in October last year?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to note that over half of the pupils at the Primary school in Stoke Poges arrive from outside the village and that they get dropped off on the streets around the school. No wonder there is concern about traffic chaos and safety of children.
ReplyDeleteIt's reassuring to know that the site for KSA has generous drop off/collection space for the coaches and, no doubt, some cars within the site and that entrance and exit are well spaced. Far better than many secondary schools in South Bucks and other areas of the country by all accounts.