As an Eltham Councillor and a retired teacher, I must draw your attention to the position of Greenwich on the recently published League Table of English Secondary Schools.

In 1998 the borough was 23rd from the bottom of 122 education authorities in England.

But this year it has dropped further to 10th from the bottom.

Against this background, is it any wonder Eltham Hill School is trying to cut its ties with Greenwich Council and achieve a degree of independence as a Foundation School? On the league table in question, I see that Eltham Hill was one of the Borough's best performing schools.

Indeed, those which did better than Eltham Hill were all, with one exception, schools not controlled by Greenwich Council. There must be a message for our Labour Council here.

The trouble with the Greenwich Education Service is it just does not understand what makes for a successful school.

But at the same time, it is paranoid about the successful schools in Bexley and Bromley luring pupils over the borough boundary. Last year 43.5 per cent of the primary pupils in band 1A living in Greenwich transferred to secondary schools in another borough.

The governing body has seen that, by becoming a Foundation School, Eltham Hill headteacher and staff can have a much tighter control on its development.

It can also begin to win back some of the Eltham children who have gone to neighbouring boroughs.

Dermot Poston

Councillor

Eltham Park Ward

November 27, 2001 16:47