Harrington School gets the go ahead

Plans for a new free school in Rutland for post 16 education get the go ahead by the Department of Education. The bid to create Harington School was put together by Catmose College, Uppingham Community College and Oakham School. It is hoped that the school will be opening for it first intake in September 2015.

Over the years many of the top achieving students have decided to leave education in Rutland and seek courses in other counties because of the poor resources for 16 plus education around Oakham and Uppingham. Currently there is just one college based on the outskirts of the former hamlet of Barleythorpe which is now a district of of Oakham, Rutland County College. This college isn't conveniently placed for public transport, since it move from central Oakham, and it has a bad reputation among the students it sets out to attract for social problems, despite it being academically excellent according to OFSTED. Clearly these social problems that are going around could just be rumour rather based in hard facts, but they have damaged the colleges reputation with many. 

The organisations behind Harington School believe that there is a need in Rutland for a new post-16 provision with a clear academic focus. The goal is to create a school provides an academic curriculum that meets that which the leading universities require for entry, together with  enrichment activities that are particularly attractive to universities and employers. There aim being  to get students throughout their A Levels to provide them with the best chance of being accepted by the most prestigious universities in the country, including Oxford, Cambridge, and those within the Russell Group.

Personally I know that until recently students at Catmose College are looking outside Rutland at post 16 education options. These include scholarships to Oakham School, King Edward VII School in Melton Mowbray, Stamford College and even as far afield such as Kings School Grantham and the Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School. Hopefully with the opening of  Harington School these students now have an alternative which won't require them to be travelling hours and hours to get to a place of education each day.

The granting of the go ahead will be a real kick in the teeth to Rutland County Council who recently took over the running of Rutland College. Both Catmose College and Uppingham Community College were once local authority controlled and became academies as soon as they possibly could as have a number of other schools in the county. The current list  to July 2013 includes:

• Uppingham Community College
• Catmose College
• Casterton Business & Enterprise College
• Brooke Hill Academy
• Catmose Primary School
• Leighfield Primary School
• English Martyrs RC Primary School
• Langham  Primary School

Privately having talked to one of the Governor of  at the time of the Catmose College move to becoing an Academy the main reasoning was to do with funding and feeling they didn't get a fair deal by the Rutland County Council who were creaming off money from the education budget for administration and not passing enough money back to the schools.

Where this leaves Rutland County College is going to be an interesting question as Harington School will cream off the best students and many more besides from the two schools involved in the project. This will impact on there A-level programmes which until now according to their website have been excellent in terms of pass rate at least. It could force the existing college to introduce more vocational qualifications which might also be a good thing county that lacks this sort of provision.