The Department for Education faces a landmark legal challenge over the opening of a new school sixth form, which colleges claim is not viable, TES can reveal.
The Association of Colleges (AoC) and Havering Sixth Form College have jointly instigated a judicial review after regional schools commissioner (RSC) Tim Coulson approved a bid by Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College in Hornchurch, East London, to open a new sixth form in September 2017.
The AoC argues that the application failed to meet guidelines set out by the DfE in March. These include that applications should “normally” be put forward only by schools rated “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted, which offer a broad range of A-level subjects and expect to enrol 200 or more students. The government guidance also stresses that any new sixth form must not be a financial burden on the rest of the school.
If successful, the legal challenge could lead to further scrutiny on schools that apply to open sixth forms in the future. The AoC also believes the ruling could have a bearing on proposals to open new grammar schools, in establishing whether official guidance for RSCs “really has any teeth”.
‘We decided to make a stand’
Paul Wakeling, principal of Havering Sixth Form College, said he did not believe the application by Abbs Cross, currently in special measures, complied with the criteria. “This is the first case,” he said. “It came four weeks after the guidelines were published, and we had a decision that seemed contrary to those guidelines. We decided to make a stand.”
AoC chief executive David Hughes said: “The choice and breadth of high-quality education and training is so important for all young people. We felt we had no choice but to initiate a judicial review when the official government guidance, designed to ensure the quality and viability of post-16 education, was ignored.”
The case is due to be heard on 1 November.
Mr Wakeling told TES that the legal action was not an “aggressive action against the school” but a test of “how seriously the DfE is taking its own guidance”. He added: “I don’t think [Abbs Cross’ application] complies with any of the criteria. The local data shows that there’s a declining demographic in this borough. There will be around 460 [fewer] 16- to 18-year-olds in the borough by 2019, so we don’t think it meets demand.”
The Loxford School Trust, which runs Abbs Cross, declined to comment. A DfE spokesperson said it would “not be appropriate to comment while proceedings are ongoing”.
This is an edited vesion of a story in the 23 September issue of TES. Subscribers can read the full version here.
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