School League Tables 2009 SAT results: Freshford School

These results are taken from Guardian School League tables B&NES  the results may be sorted by selecting any heading from the Guardian's list:

1. 40th in maths
2. 35th in science
3. 19th in English ?
4. 17th value added score
5. 24th average point

The BBC publish figures for Freshford School  list performance in English as being better than the LA average and the National average. The problem is that Freshford's rank of 19th  in the Guardian list obscures the fact that ten schools obtained a score between 93 and 95 per cent. In terms of statistical significance these ten schools could be grouped joint 10th. But the layout of the guardian table will not allow that.  In fact it is misleading. The BBC's table is thus more reliable than the Guardian's School league table. Similarly, Science could be joint 36th and Maths  joint 38th.

The scores are in order of results English 93% Science 87% Maths 73%.  Although the BBC tables enable one to click on a school and go to the individual results for the school and see how it performs over time one cannot see any particular subject in the table showing all schools as one can with the Guardian's league tables but as mentioned above the Guardian table is misleading.

Total schools in BANES 48. Freshford's aggregate score is 253, this ranks Freshford as being 35th or joint 33rd.

It is a surprise that of  the 15 children eligible to take the SATs one third had special education needs.

 The SAT scores for Science and especially Maths are disappointing. One may query whether the teachers need to improve the management of children's learning, especially as so many teachers are working part time. How many full time teachers are there anyway? To do the job properly is easier for a full time teacher. There must be a lot more work  for two teachers, and possibly three as they will need to work together, and spend time together after school. Are they able to?

The recent OFSTED report rate the school as Grade 2 Good,  so for the new year beginning in September the school should aim for Outstanding.

Unfortunately, Freshford school was one of the 40 per cent of  schools in BANES that boycotted the SATs this year (2010) so we will not be able to evaluate recent progress.

The following article is copied from a Google cache of the Wikipedia article for Freshford. Since the article used to read as below, it has been edited 'dumbed down' one might say (although I don't like the phrase). The alterations although on the whole good, do remove the fact that a lot of residents have spent many hours trying to deter Bath and North East Somerset and councillors from permitting the development. The argument is that what is written below is one sided and does not give the other side of recommending that the application should be permitted. I have not had any comment on why this development should have been permitted from any of those parties involved: B&NES Planning, Government Office of the South West, councillors. Ypres Rose Devlopments have also refrained from putting forth their argument for wanting to build at Freshford Mill. Of course I just may be too close to the issue and maybe many will accept the present article.

If anyone wants to edit the present Wikipedia article they are quite entitled to do so. On an earlier date the complete article section below was just removed in its entirety.

<The most important issue facing Freshford is the current development at Freshford Mill.^{[citation needed]} For the whole of the 21st Century, Freshford and its parish council, have had to spend a great amount of time trying to stop a development at Freshford Mill that would increase the population of the village and put great stress on the local roads^{[citation needed]}. There has been some disagreement as to whether the development now being undertaken by Ypres Rose is unwelcome^{[citation needed]}. The facts are that 80 percent of the village objected to the development that was proposed by Southern and Counties and only 1 person was in favour (provided the transport problems could be overcome). These facts come from the Freshford Parish Council's Extraordinary Meeting of the 22nd July 2002. The document may be found with some difficulty on the BANES Planning website but is more easily found (reproduced under APPENDIX F : DEMOCRATIC CONSULTATION AND PARISH COUNCIL EXTRAORDINARY MEETING) at [1]

The development which is in progress, is to convert a disused industrial site within a Zone 3 flood plain into a residential estate. Flood plain zones as defined by DEFRA state that Zone 3 is one of high probability of annual flooding [2]>

On reflection, the request for 'citation needed' is met by the reference to the 'Appendix F: Democratic . . .' Or is that not enough?

I note that Freshford Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School has a slow but steadily declining score in the local school league tables. school league tables This is especially surprising as one would have thought that the children who come from a relatively wealthy catchment area would have the "edge" over children from other areas in BA&NES. Please look very carefully at these tables and bear in mind that many of these children in other parts of BA&NES come from families that do not themselves have a history of achievement from school or from work, yet have a parental desire for their children to "do better"

1. Let's analyse the possible reasons for this decline. Some parents have reacted to the ethos of the school "as being unhurried" I think that this concept is a dangerous philosphy (argument to follow)
2. parents have been advised to buy basic course books for children to be used at home. Because not enough time is spent on the basics at school. Parents will need, therefore, to teach their children to use these materials. (factors: cost, parental ability)
3. parents have been told that the school only has the child in school for a small percentage of the day -and therefore parents have a greater responsibility and share of the time in which to teach their children than teachers.(this ignores parental work patterns and the provision of food preparation etc after school and the child's fatigue)
4. several parents have withdrawn their children from the school to be educated privately at great expense to those parents.
5 some parents are paying for their children to have extra tuition after school (this benefits the school's league table score but debits the parents bank account and takes time after school from activities that the child could and probably should enjoy)
6. some parents have been advised to provide extra basic lessons by paying for Kumon lessons (an effective means of compensating for activites that the child should undertake at school but does not have time for during school time)
7. much of the "unhurried philosophy" can be traced back to experiments being carried out in conjunction with Bath University that can be now seen to adversely effect the attainment of children at the school.

Sustainability is a new word. For its meaning why not read this article: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability At the root of any communities ability to survive and thrive there has to be a school. Freshford has a school, but to be honest, the way in which the school's needs are being ignored leads me to believe that maybe a significant number of residents do not care. The school is central to sustainable development as a community.

Lets take the space that's available for outside activities, it is quite restricted, certainly not conducive to running around. The school is using that space well, but it was denied the space that it needs because the adjoining field is owned by a group of residents who are not prepared to allow any of it to be used. That's what I understand anyway, perhaps that's not the case.

Similarly, it is patently obvious that many parents need to use their cars to deliver their children to school. One Factor being that the parents drop their children off enroute to going to work. Yet the possibility of having an off road parking area along Freshford Lane adjoining the school is again blocked by this group of owners of the field. Instead, parents have to park along Freshford lane causing traffic chaos at least twice a day.

There is a continuing and very real danger that someone's child is going to be injured. The necessity for children to have to walk in front of the school bus for example is absurd. The driver cannot even see whether there are any children in front of his vehicle and a child is invisible to passing cars. Even an adult has to take great care. The unacceptible facts are that some motorists who come down Freshford lane at these times, lose their patience and when the road is somewhat clear they drive too fast.

The situation is made worse by there being no pavement, no pedestrian way to negotiate the road junction in safety. This situation will now be described as an example of Shared Spaces! Whereas it is really an example of cocked up planning. Photographs of the junction may be scrutinised here: Road Junction Centre of Freshford