My old school was once a comprehensive, famed for its performing arts programme. Then it was turned into an academy - and now, it's facing demolition. Seems apt.
A great piece Fred. Thanks for sharing it. I spoke to a lot of people on the farewell open day who felt the same. The sense of loss (and waste) is palpable.
Education policy prior to academisation had a big role in this - policy made it became impossible to sustain schools of Hewett’s scale, yet it was the scale that supported the range of subjects, facilities, quality and choice that we had as pupils/students. I fear we have ended up with a wider choice of institutions most of which are struggling to provide anything like the real educational choices and life chances afforded to those of us who saw comprehensive education working at its best.
The early years of the Academy at Hewett worsened this, and I see the current management trying hard to make the best of the mixed hand they’ve been dealt. For everyone’s sake I hope they succeed. Fwiw Melita and I did some research on the earlier years of the school and Walter Roy’s achievements as an educationalist and a headteacher: he’s someone who deserves more recognition. Link to the pieces we wrote here: https://richardprice500.wordpress.com/hewetthistories/
Thanks again for writing such a thoughtful piece. We’ll be promulgating it through the Hewett community.
Thanks for your very thoughtful response to this piece Richard. I really hope that the current management can give the school a positive future, because it's been sad to observe this decline - even if education policy, alongside other factors, ultimately made it inevitable. Appreciate you sharing the story far & wide, and thanks for sending the link to your Hewett histories collection - I look forward to digging into those pieces
There was such a debate over academisation and a lot of resistance (I’m in a different part of the country but the effects were similar). One question I had at the time was about who owned the buildings and the land once an academy chain took over. So often, the school ends up “shrinking” in terms of its footprint during a rebuild. Smaller classrooms, smaller play areas; a playing field lost. And then two schools get amalgamated and a building is sold. I’m still not sure how the economics work.
Yeah that sounds a lot like what happened to Hewett. After I left they even put up a huge fence blocking kids' access to the majority of the field, which as far as I'm aware is now mostly hired out to other schools and local sports clubs (with Hewett students only getting access during specific PE lessons/afterschool clubs)
A great piece Fred, glad you wrote this because if it was me the piece would probably have been unprintable. The damage done this particular trust is hard to underestimate. Broken pupils, broken teachers and the whole sale destruction of arts in education is simply unforgivable . So much talent wasted ....
A great piece Fred. Thanks for sharing it. I spoke to a lot of people on the farewell open day who felt the same. The sense of loss (and waste) is palpable.
Education policy prior to academisation had a big role in this - policy made it became impossible to sustain schools of Hewett’s scale, yet it was the scale that supported the range of subjects, facilities, quality and choice that we had as pupils/students. I fear we have ended up with a wider choice of institutions most of which are struggling to provide anything like the real educational choices and life chances afforded to those of us who saw comprehensive education working at its best.
The early years of the Academy at Hewett worsened this, and I see the current management trying hard to make the best of the mixed hand they’ve been dealt. For everyone’s sake I hope they succeed. Fwiw Melita and I did some research on the earlier years of the school and Walter Roy’s achievements as an educationalist and a headteacher: he’s someone who deserves more recognition. Link to the pieces we wrote here: https://richardprice500.wordpress.com/hewetthistories/
Thanks again for writing such a thoughtful piece. We’ll be promulgating it through the Hewett community.
Thanks for your very thoughtful response to this piece Richard. I really hope that the current management can give the school a positive future, because it's been sad to observe this decline - even if education policy, alongside other factors, ultimately made it inevitable. Appreciate you sharing the story far & wide, and thanks for sending the link to your Hewett histories collection - I look forward to digging into those pieces
What a sad tale. Thanks for sharing it.
It really is - thanks for reading Wendy.
There was such a debate over academisation and a lot of resistance (I’m in a different part of the country but the effects were similar). One question I had at the time was about who owned the buildings and the land once an academy chain took over. So often, the school ends up “shrinking” in terms of its footprint during a rebuild. Smaller classrooms, smaller play areas; a playing field lost. And then two schools get amalgamated and a building is sold. I’m still not sure how the economics work.
Yeah that sounds a lot like what happened to Hewett. After I left they even put up a huge fence blocking kids' access to the majority of the field, which as far as I'm aware is now mostly hired out to other schools and local sports clubs (with Hewett students only getting access during specific PE lessons/afterschool clubs)
What an excellent article. Thanks Fred.
A great piece Fred, glad you wrote this because if it was me the piece would probably have been unprintable. The damage done this particular trust is hard to underestimate. Broken pupils, broken teachers and the whole sale destruction of arts in education is simply unforgivable . So much talent wasted ....