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Written by Paul Welsh
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Monday, 05 July 2010 19:00 |
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 Michael Gove today announced the abolition of the Building Schools for the Future scheme, describing it as "an inflexible, and needlessly complex programme". You can read the press release HERE.
A list of cancelled and unaffected projects has been released which you can read HERE. In the list, the Slough entry is rather cryptic: Slough2 Stopped There's a clue to what Slough2 refers to in one of the emails I received as part of a freedom of information request which you can read HERE. In the message, Saleem Quazi refers to the "Slough 2" project. It would appear, therefore, that Slough 2 is the proposed Catholic Academy! Of course, St Joseph's BSF funding is almost certainly not going to materialise either and that leaves the Diocese having to come up with a Plan B. Plan B may well mean signing over St Joseph's to Slough Council and making St Bernard's comprehensive, so the battle may be won but not the war. To discuss this article, join our mailing list. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 05 July 2010 19:27 |
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EoI will be considered by ministers "soon" |
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Written by Paul Welsh
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Sunday, 27 June 2010 20:21 |
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The parish newsletter given out during mass at St Ethelbert's Church in Slough today has a statement in it from NORES, the Northampton Diocesan Office for RE, Evangelisation, Catechesis and Schools. It is entitled Slough Catholic College and states: The Expression of Interest for the proposed Catholic College, having been submitted prior to the election, will soon be considered by Ministers. The delay has been due to the General Election and formation of the new Government. As soon as any further information is available, it will be communicated openly. Our prime concern continues to be the assured provision of Catholic secondary education for the young people of Slough. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 05 July 2010 19:17 |
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Written by Paul Welsh
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Sunday, 16 May 2010 18:50 |
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 So here we are with a new LibCon coalition government and Michael Gove (mainly privately educated - scholarship) as the new Education Secretary. Ed "bully" Balls is, like the inelegantly named Department of Children Schools and Families, no more. Unfortunately, Fiona Mactaggart, the anti-grammar school (Cheltenham Ladies' College educated) Labour MP for Slough retained her seat. Nevertheless, in general it seems like good news, but we would be foolish in the extreme to believe that there is now little threat to St Bernard's.
The Expression of Interest is now sitting in Michael Gove's in-tray with a big tick in the "No" box in response to the question about whether the governors of St Bernard's support the application. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 27 June 2010 20:55 |
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Written by Tony O'Shea
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Sunday, 23 May 2010 22:02 |
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 It is some time since I last wrote and you may have noticed that since then we now have a new government ... well two at least! With a Con-Lib coalition now in office there are more questions than answers at the present time regarding the fate of grammar schools, BSF funding (or lack of it) and particularly the outcome of the Expression of Interest (EoI).
The new Secretary of State for Education is the Rt. Hon Michael Gove MP who replaces Ed Balls. Mr Gove is the MP for Surrey Heath which probably has a number of constituent children attending St Bernard’s. As you are aware, the Diocese and Slough Council submitted the EoI in March 2010 to the DCSF (now DfE) in an attempt to have the academy proposal agreed to enter the feasibility stage. Fortunately, the election was called prior to the document being reviewed and, as a consequence, the EoI remains an outstanding item for Mr Gove and his new team to review.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 27 June 2010 20:50 |
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Expression of Interest submitted |
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Written by Paul Welsh
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Monday, 19 April 2010 12:28 |
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Today's Monday letter states that the EoI (Expression of Interest) has been submitted to the DCSF for approval. Just to be clear, the EoI has gone to the DCSF for approval without the support of the St Bernard's governors. The Diocese either thought they could get it approved before the election or decided that they wouldn't be able to persuade the St Bernard's governors to support it. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 27 June 2010 20:57 |
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