Very interesting

[Mainstand]

Fact. As a parent it will cost me aprox £500 more this year in bus fares and dinners for my 2 children affected ( I will not let my 13 year old daughter walk the streets of barrow at that time of day in view of the high number of assults on girls reported in the paper recently so dont even go there). And it will be an odds on certanty that Stagecoach wont run extra busses to cope with the increased demand
Fact. whe the academy was proposed the comment was made there would be no job losses for teachers,yet I am hearing of dozens of teachers who have been told they wont have a job next year, Teachers who are so scared and so upset they have been seen crying!!! :[SwearFilter]: . In simple numbers if there are x pupils in 3 schools and you need y teachers how many teachers will you need to teach the same number of pupils on two sites the answer should still be y teachers. It looks like Cumbria education commitee cant even do simple maths

Well myself and my brother along with many others from Holbeck got a bus to school to schools such as the technical school, alfred barrow and the grammar school and even in them days it had to be paid for.
From what i have heard no teachers have been told they have not got a job. What they have been told is that they have not got the paticular job they applied for. There is a difference.
I shudder to think how they would have coped in the nineties in the shipyard when workers were being taken into offices and being made redundant.

[Sigmundsam]

As someone who attended St Bernard’s school I’d like to trump its case to those seeking an alternative to the academy. Many Non Catholics may not like the idea of sending their child to a Catholic school but let me tell you the difference from my experience. R.E is a compulsory subject from Year 7 to 11 and occasionally we’d say a prayer at the end of an assembly… They were the only two notable nudges towards the Catholic faith in the school. There is a chapel for students to use as they wish but obviously this is optional.

In terms of results they tend to get better pass rates every year which the paper publishes annually if you want to check them (they did when I was there anyway, 5 years ago). The sport facilities and traditions are very good and the system was transparent as the school encouraged communication with parents etc if they had any qualms or queries.

Also, the fact that R.E is compulsory is a big plus in my view as your child can challenge other views and of course be challenged themselves. I was brought up a Catholic but through my own journey I haven’t practiced the religion myself in a long time but it does teach some good values and common sense to youngsters.

[monty zoomer]

The good thing about being a catholic, when I went to the Grammar was that we had a free period when it was R.E.

[burnzio]

Also, the fact that R.E is compulsory is a big plus in my view as your child can challenge other views and of course be challenged themselves. I was brought up a Catholic but through my own journey I haven’t practiced the religion myself in a long time but it does teach some good values and common sense to youngsters.

Completely echo Si's post especially this bit. I am in a similar boat and don't practice Catholicism strictly but believe the lessons and taught in R.E. are very effective in a students moral upbringing.

I am very happy that my little brother will be going to Bernard's next year and manages to avoid all this academy crap.

[Reg]

I accept that having to trek 2 miles to school every day will be a chore but its hardly dangerous and the fact you're implying that teenage kids will have to encounter 'dangerous' roads every day to get to school is laughable. I hardly think there is a huge risk of getting hurt walking the few hundred yards from Alfs to the town hall to jump on a bus and IMO, this is just another example of the crap, hysterical reasoning that has hindered the anti academy brigade in achieving their small minded goals.

Agree entirely with the above. Any credability the ant academy brigade had is vanishing very quickly amongs many people in the town due to the hysteria they are causing.

Anti Academy hysteria my Its obvious that from your comments you are either somebody with no children affected by this or a labour party member by the amount of drivel you trot out or are you the owner of identity who must be rubbing his hads with glee at the amout of profit he will make
Fact. As a parent it will cost me aprox £500 more this year in bus fares and dinners for my 2 children affected ( I will not let my 13 year old daughter walk the streets of barrow at that time of day in view of the high number of assults on girls reported in the paper recently so dont even go there). And it will be an odds on certanty that Stagecoach wont run extra busses to cope with the increased demand
Fact It was obvious from day 1 that the academy was what the coucil wanted and they have ridden rougthshod over anybody who dares to say overwise
Fact. whe the academy was proposed the comment was made there would be no job losses for teachers,yet I am hearing of dozens of teachers who have been told they wont have a job next year, Teachers who are so scared and so upset they have been seen crying!!! . In simple numbers if there are x pupils in 3 schools and you need y teachers how many teachers will you need to teach the same number of pupils on two sites the answer should still be y teachers. It looks like Cumbria education commitee cant even do simple maths
Fact Carlisle Academy is a disaster and look who the main sponsers of the Barrow academy are ....yes the majority of the same people THIS DOES NOT LOOK GOOD FOR THE CHILDREN OF BARROW. It makes my blood boil to read drivel such as posted above by people who obviously dont give a about the children of this towns education

What part of my post stating that I had three children that will be attending the Academy in the next 4/5 years did you not understand?

I would guess that Stagecoach will run buses to the Academy, why wouldn't they? They run school buses now, why would anything change on that score?

I'm not a member of the Labour PArty, although I do support them loosely and vote for them. Quite what that has got to do with anything is beyond me though.

It would seem to me that you're mainly concerned about a measly few hundred quid and a bit of inconvenience as much as you are anything else.

The fact still remains that we are doing away with schools that historically have performed badly. Whether or not that Academy will be better is open to debate but it sure as hell can't be any worse! I'd almost rather send my kids into a lions den than into the breeding ground for failures and criminals that is Alfred Barrow School!

[barrowaberdeen]

Any teacher will thinkthe treatment of their colleagues is shameful of course. But I ask again- what will the protest achieve in the long term? Let's deal with the reality of this [SwearFilter] up for the sake of the kids in this town. For good or ill, the academy has not been stopped- nor will it be- it never would have been. Education bends to political fashion and money talks sadly- it always has.

[Holkerbird]

I am sure there are lots of decent pupils attending Alfred Barrow school and I'm sure all schools produce misfits and those that step outside the law. That Alfred Barrow school has a high percentage of children with special needs and hard working teachers deserve more respect than to say it is a breeding ground for criminals.

[Down The Park]

What part of my post stating that I had three children that will be attending the Academy in the next 4/5 years did you not understand?

I would guess that Stagecoach will run buses to the Academy, why wouldn't they? They run school buses now, why would anything change on that score?

I'm not a member of the Labour PArty, although I do support them loosely and vote for them. Quite what that has got to do with anything is beyond me though.

To be fair I think he was addressing Mainstand on the 'no kids' part

As far as distance being a factor I often used to walk from Barrow Island to the Grammar School and barely gave it a thought - well I was knackered when I got there but you saved you bus money.

[Andy]

As someone who attended St Bernard’s school I’d like to trump its case to those seeking an alternative to the academy. Many Non Catholics may not like the idea of sending their child to a Catholic school but let me tell you the difference from my experience. R.E is a compulsory subject from Year 7 to 11 and occasionally we’d say a prayer at the end of an assembly… They were the only two notable nudges towards the Catholic faith in the school. There is a chapel for students to use as they wish but obviously this is optional.

In terms of results they tend to get better pass rates every year which the paper publishes annually if you want to check them (they did when I was there anyway, 5 years ago). The sport facilities and traditions are very good and the system was transparent as the school encouraged communication with parents etc if they had any qualms or queries.

Also, the fact that R.E is compulsory is a big plus in my view as your child can challenge other views and of course be challenged themselves. I was brought up a Catholic but through my own journey I haven’t practiced the religion myself in a long time but it does teach some good values and common sense to youngsters.

A fair post but St Bernard's will not be able to take that many more than it already has due to its intake limits. I don't believe in religion and would not send my children there because I don't want them to have a religious upbringing. If they want religion they can find it when they are old enough not to be brainwashed.
What does worry me is that for the parents of children in Barrow, there is now going to be no standard state school. All of the secondary provision in Barrow will be influenced directly by outside agencies who all have their own agendas and reasons. I have yet to see what the Academy sponsors reasons for being involved are nor the Trust board on Walney.

[Lisa]

I am sure there are lots of decent pupils attending Alfred Barrow school and I'm sure all schools produce misfits and those that step outside the law. That Alfred Barrow school has a high percentage of children with special needs and hard working teachers deserve more respect than to say it is a breeding ground for criminals.

People on here are praising St Bernards, but from stories I have heard about kids from there going across to the college to get drugs and becoming addicts, Bernards isn't all it's cracked up to be either. However, that said, I still say that it depends on what the child is like itself, and wherever a child goes, if they want to learn they will.

I was for a long time neither for or against the academy, but to be honest, the more I hear people whinging about it, I want it to succeed just to shut them up as I am fed up of hearing about it. It is going to happen - get over it.

[burnzio]

People on here are praising St Bernards, but from stories I have heard about kids from there going across to the college to get drugs and becoming addicts, Bernards isn't all it's cracked up to be either..

Aye, stories! I went there and its alright so shut up or Jesus will come down and give you a right good kicking.

[supporter for life]

I'm afraid you have the wrong information Mainstand. Not only have some teachers been told they do not have the job they are interested in, some, at their feedback, have been told they will not have a job next year. In the early days it was stated that nobody would lose their job. Three months ago staff were told if they were unsuccesful in their choice that "meaningful work"would be found for them, with teachers guaranteed three years at their current salary and non-teaching staff twelve months. Now they are told they will be gone after christmas.
It also appears that the staff on the higher salaries are being overlooked, this wouldn't be to fund the Principal's £135000 a year and his vice principals' £70000 a year each would it?
The staff of Alfred Barrow appear to be getting the rough edge with only, I think, one appointment to date.
How could the councillors of Barrow just stand back and nod agreement to their masters in Carlisle. We have a town lacking in a backbone and it's time we stood up for our rights, the rights of Barrow citizens to decide our own future.
As has been said before, the intention was to close Alfred Barrow and save money, money that the County Council can waste to their hearts content.

Rant over for now.

[barrowaberdeen]

People on here are praising St Bernards, but from stories I have heard about kids from there going across to the college to get drugs and becoming addicts, Bernards isn't all it's cracked up to be either..

Aye, stories! I went there and its alright so shut up or Jesus will come down and give you a right good kicking.

Ah, the certainty of Catholicism

[Lisa]

People on here are praising St Bernards, but from stories I have heard about kids from there going across to the college to get drugs and becoming addicts, Bernards isn't all it's cracked up to be either..

Aye, stories! I went there and its alright so shut up or Jesus will come down and give you a right good kicking.

Actually stories from people who's children attended that school and got involved in the trouble, so tend to think they are true.

Regarding your comment, as I can't 100% say I believe in Jesus/God, let him and then it will make up my mind as I would have proof he does exist! Grow up.

[burnzio]

Wait... did you actually think my post was serious?

I knew I should have put one of those smiley things.

Pipe down and turn your jocul-o-meter up!