Introduction.

At the A.G.M. of the London Branch of The Old Cryptians' Club on the 22nd of November, I promised to provide an update on the issue of school reorganisation, and in particular, of the potential impact on the current status of the School.

Background.

The Gloucestershire County Council embarked upon a major consultative exercise with the publication of the document, Review of Gloucester Secondary Schools, in October 2003. Their declared intention was to invite views on how secondary education in Gloucester and sixth forms throughout the county could be improved.

The issues that the review claims need to be addressed in summary are; the wide variation in the performance of some schools; the rising levels of surplus places that will develop by 2100 in the schools; the over provision of grammar school places in the four selective schools; and the excessive movement of pupils on a daily basis in and out of the city.

Options for Change.

In the review document the authors have proposed a wide range of options for the reform of the structure of the 13 secondary schools in the city. I t is claimed that here will be found the solutions to the problems that have been identified.

In the summary of the options for the southern end of the city-Cluster 1, it is proposed that The Crypt School is closed and subsumed or amalgamated to form one of the following:

- a new coeducational grammar school with Ribston Hall of 600 places with a sixth form.
- a new boys' 11 to 16 comprehensive school of 750 places by amalgamation of The Crypt and Central School. Without a sixth form.
- one of two new coeducational 11 to 16 comprehensive schools each of 750 places by amalgamations with Ribston Hall, Barnwood Park and Central. Without sixth forms.

Note. It is stated also that 'no change is an option'.

The Old Cryptian Response.

Predictably, in one of several ways, all of the options as these relate to changes in the status of the The Crypt School, have been opposed. To date, positive action has been taken place in the following manner.

The President, on behalf of the Old Cryptians' Club, at the behest of the committee, has written a letter to The Citizen, and also to Tim Yeo, MP, the conservative party spokesman on education. The President has despatched also a paper to the Senior Educational Planning Officer at Shire Hall.

The President has also discussed with Old Cryptian, David Lane, QC, the advisability of seeking a judicial review of the administration of the consultation process by Gloucester County Council. Judge Lane advised against such action , in particular, on the grounds of the prohibitive costs of such a review. The President also wrote to the chairman of the Gloucester Schools' Charity, Peter Robbins. He was able to confirm that The Crypt School owns the buildings and land at Podsmead. He also has stated publicly his support for the retention of the grammar schools in Gloucester. This is a view shared by the majority of the Trustees of the Charity.

Letters have been sent by past presidents, Dr Graham Russell, Gordon and Brian Jones; vice president, Peter Butler; the chairman of The London Branch, John Goodridge; and by other Old Cryptians; to The Citizen and/or The Daily Telegraph or The Times.

Past president, Ian Williamson, has written to his constituency MP, and a former headmaster of The Crypt and a past president, Michael Holmes, has written to Tim Yeo. Both MP's have agreed in their replies to draw the issues of Gloucester, and not least The Crypt, to the attention of the Schools' Minister.

The parents have set up their own organisation to combat the closure of the School. This is the Review Action Group for Education (RAGE). Together with representatives of the parents' associations and of the organisations of former pupils of the four grammar schools, a group has been formed to resist the perceived threat to the status of the selective schools. This is SOS, save our schools. To date the group has organised petitions and composed sets of questions for use at the several consultative meetings in each of the schools under review. In turn, both of these organisations have been in discussion with regard to the implementation of more militant actions, e.g. a march to Shire Hall through the streets of Gloucester before Christmas.

Two public meetings took place in The School Hall on the evenings of Monday 24th November. The Hall was very full for both of these meetings. The officers of the Gloucestershire County Council were bombarded by a wide range of statements and questions from parents, pupils and former pupils, and members of the public. The structural options were rejected unanimously and with considerable passion by those present in either meeting. At the commencement of both meetings, there were excellent statements presented by the headmaster, David Lamper, and by Martin Kennedy, a parent governor, as the representative of the governors, in which the strong case was made on the grounds of the School's current excellent performance, for the retention of its present status.

The Next Stage.

Assurances were given at the Public Meetings that no decisions had been taken and that there was no hidden agenda. There was a reiteration of the message that the Cabinet/Council would determine the next steps only after due consideration of the results of the consultation.

In February 2004, the Cabinet could decide to choose a preferred option and begin an implementation process. If proposals were approved, in September 2005, the legal closure of The Crypt School could take place and the opening of a new school with a new status could be implemented.

Therefore, it is imperative that Old Cryptians continue to write to and lobby any of the following; your local MP; Mr Blair and Mr Howard(emphasising choice); The Citizen, The Times, The Daily Telegraph; your local town/county councillor if you reside in the Gloucester catchment area.

I believe it is most important that in our communications, we emphasise the current quality of the School, as stated by the Ofsted Inspectors (1998). Namely, The Crypt School, 'offered a distinctive, broad and challenging education which enables all pupils to grow intellectually and socially.' Furthermore, most recently, through its enlightened programmes of improving performance, the School has won two School Achievement awards. The governors have been most successful in winning the considerable support of the community and parents. This enabled them to raise the essential funding for the attainment of the prestigious award of Science College status.

Indeed, the School provides the distinctive ethos and quality of all round education, that the authors of the Review Document claim, they are seeking in the schools of Gloucester. Certainly, The Crypt School, with the fine leadership of David Lamper and the commitment of its staff, is well placed to provide opportunities of high quality education for the young people of Gloucester and district. We must do all in our power to prevent The Crypt School being cast aside on the whim of councillors or planners.

I trust that my update has been informative. I remain hopeful that our School will be left to pursue the lines of development that would win your approval and support.

Vivat Schola Cryptiensis.

Vivat in Perpetuum.