Sir Thomas Rich's

A signed letter from the Headmaster and the Chairman of Governors outlining the consultation process can be found here.

The proposal to increase the Year 7 intake from September 2019 (with a pilot from September 2018) would not affect the size of other year groups already in the school, nor would it impact on class sizes. The School would increase in size progressively year on year thereafter.

The reasons for the proposed increase in PAN are set out below:

• There is a rising demand for secondary school places in Gloucester and the surrounding areas. Gloucestershire County Council projections evidence a need to accommodate increased numbers of secondary school students from 2018 onwards;
• Sir Thomas Rich’s School is currently oversubscribed. Over 260 students have reached the qualifying standard for entry in each of the last three years (Sept.’15=265, Sept.’16=279, Sept.’17=318). Demand for places at the School remains high, evidenced by the large number of appeals for places in recent years;
• The decision by The Crypt School to become co-educational from September 2018 effectively reduces the number of selective school places for boys in the city; the planned increase would go some way to address this;
• The School has examined carefully the impact of this situation on its educational principles, practices and policies and believes that, given the financial position outlined above, an increase in PAN is the best course of action to preserve and protect its high educational standards;
• We are also committed to maintaining the School’s fine traditions, its unique ethos and its distinctive combination of a broad and eclectic range of extra-curricular activities, strong and proactive pastoral care and an emphasis on producing confident, well rounded young people. It will only be possible to continue on this path by generating increased funding from higher pupil numbers;
• We believe that grammar schools should provide opportunities for all children. To this end, we have taken an initiative recently to forge stronger links with primary schools in more deprived parts of Gloucestershire We anticipate that increasing our PAN will provide greater opportunity for talented pupils who meet our qualifying criteria, regardless of background or means.

The consultation ran from 2nd October for a minimum of six weeks and three letters were received. At their meeting on 19 January 2018, the Full Governing Body read each letter and carefully considered all the points raised. After lengthy discussion, it was agreed that we would continue with our proposal to increase the published admission number to 150. The Governors also agreed to re-word the Y7-11 policy slightly to more clearly signpost that boys who are eligible for pupil premium, and who pass the test, are ranked higher in the admission criteria. Additionally, we already have three governors working on an outreach programme whose remit will now also include encouraging students from local schools to apply for the admission test.