Post 66 – 19/05/24 – Royal Holloway’s Possible Impact On Our Schools (5 Minute Read)
From the report produced by RBC officers in Nov 2022 (link to report in the Notices at foot of this Post), we know that one of the potential impacts that student HMOs can have on an area is:
‘The gradual closure of local crèches, nurseries and schools, and other community facilities.’
This phenomena could be regarded as one of the less visible impacts that student HMOs have on a community. (Litter, fly-tipping, overflowing bins, ‘to-let’ boards, unkempt gardens for example are far more visible.)
We thought we ought to shine a spotlight on this particular issue as it is one impact that is not commonly associated with the proliferation of student HMOs.
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Let’s make a start…
My wife and I moved to Englefield Green in Sept 2011. We moved here with our 2 year old son shortly before the arrival of our daughter. And we chose to move here for the usual reasons people move to an area: access to our work, good communications, good amenities, the sense of community, proximity to family & friends etc. In that mix, schools also featured: we knew that there was an infant school (then Englefield Green Infant School now St Jude’s C of E Infant School) and a primary school, St Jude’s C of E Junior School. We also knew that there was an oversubscribed Catholic school, St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School, that fed into the very popular Salesian School in Chertsey.
The schools at that time we knew were well liked and were also regarded as either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ according to Ofsted. Having good local schools was important to us at the time being a young family. And when the kids came of school age we were happy to join the busy flow of parents walking up and up and down St. Jude’s Road at the drop off and pick up times.
But over the last few years my wife and I have noticed a decline in this drop off/ pick up activity and commented on it from time to time to one another. We never really asked the question as to why there seemed to be fewer parents shuttling their kids backwards and forward until my interest in RHUL heightened.
So the hypothesis is this, ‘Has the growth in RHUL’s student numbers in recent years led to a decrease in the number of children in our community? And in turn, is this threatening our schools’ existence?’
Let’s look at St. Jude’s C of E Junior School numbers as an example:
Year – Total Number of Children
2016 – 316
2017 – 301
2018 – 277
2019 – 263
2020 – 242
2021 – 206
2022 – 208
2023 – 200
As you can see over the last 7 years there has been a steady decline in the number of children at the school. A 37% decrease.
And I can vouch for this: when my eldest went to St Jude’s Junior School in (2016) there was a 3 form intake for the entry year, Year 3. (About 90 children.) But when my youngest joined a couple of years later (2019) the intake had changed to a 2 form intake. (About 60 children.)
Today, St Jude’s Schools (Infant & Junior) has consulted on reducing to a 1 form intake for the entry year, Year Reception from September 2025. (30 children.) When that year group reaches Year 6 in c.2028 (when the children transition to the Junior School) there will be 1 form intake for the Junior School. (30 children.)
This reduction in intake is based on the number of children forecasted to require a space and economics. To be the most efficient, schools should have full forms and run at or near capacity. In September 2023, the Infant school accepted 36 children. Unfortunately, it is not economically viable to run 2 forms for 36 children.
And St Jude’s is not alone. If we turn to St Cubert’s, we know that they are also experiencing similar problems with attracting students. (We have tried to make contact with Manorcroft Primary School on a couple of occasions about this topic but have not been successful to date.)
Let’s now turn to RHUL’s student numbers: over the last decade there has been a steady increase. Over the last 8 years, a 28% increase in fact.
2016/17 – 9,515
2017/18 – 9,615
2018/19 – 10,232
2019/20 – 10,629
2020/21 – 12,195*
2021/22 – 11,339
2022/23 – 11,921
2024/25 – 12,195
But this is all a bit crude. At the moment we cannot categorically say that these two trends are correlated. Further work is required: we ought to take into consideration other factors such as Ofsted reports, personnel and other micro factors that may be unique to these schools. And we should really be comparing the increase of student HMOs in the community over the last 10 years instead of the increase in student numbers. We need to conduct some proper statistical analysis to test the hypothesis on the correct raw data. And we really ought to check that outlier highlighted with an asterisk above. But unfortunately, I/ we don’t have the time currently. Perhaps RBC could do the work?
So I am going to have to draw a conclusion based on my gut whilst considering the Officers’ report. Is RHUL impacting the well-being of our schools? I think it almost definitely is. (Sorry I can’t be more explicit!)
On this specialist subject though, I am a bit behind the curve. In 2019, the Headteachers of the St Jude’s Schools wrote in The Clarion, (an Englefield Green Community Newsletter) an article expressing their concerns about this very issue. (See the PDF below.)
To conclude: would I move to this area today if I were a new parent? Unfortunately, I probably would not. The community is changing – the balance between ‘town & gown’ is out of kilter. The community has a lot going for it but I think today most families would think twice before moving here – and this just compounds the issue, allowing the student HMO flywheel to continue to gather pace.
We urgently need some effective policy put in place to stop the proliferation of student HMOs and we will be voicing this again to our councillors shortly. Thankfully we have some good councillors in post today and the lie of the land at RBC has changed after the recent elections. If there was ever a time it is now.
But we also need RHUL to change its behaviour – it cannot continue to treat our community with contempt. RHUL’s senior management team is behaving irresponsibly by following their current growth plan. And I think they know full well their impact too. Do they care for our schools, our teachers, our young families and our children? I think not.
So whilst we wait for policy change at RBC, if you care about your community and are concerned about RHUL’s growth plans please attend the protest & photocall on Saturday 8th June at 12:30. It will take just 15 minutes out of your day and will send a message to RHUL that we are not happy. To take a play on a child’s adage, we know RHUL is a big beast but we should not be afraid of monsters. I, like the Headteachers, would like our schools to thrive and be at the heart of our village – the schools are indeed a legacy that have taken almost 200 years and thousands of children to build. Once lost they will be unlikely to return anytime soon.
Best wishes,
We Need To Talk About Royal Holloway
Notices:
- Saturday 8th June: Event Details
https://weneedtotalkaboutroyalholloway.com/event/ - Time to book a night away? The Summer Ball is at the end of this month, Friday 31st May.
- For the benefit of people that have recently joined this group:
https://weneedtotalkaboutroyalholloway.com/timeline/ - Our Home Page that tells you more about us:
https://weneedtotalkaboutroyalholloway.com/ - To discuss the problems surrounding RHUL, consider joining the WNTT Forum Whatsapp group:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/BQmFKEHSa6gLsU55FU8QxN - Next Weekend’s Post: A Surrey Police Story. (This may be a bit delayed.)
- Link to report:
https://weneedtotalkaboutroyalholloway.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Appx-A-Article-4-Direction-and-Houses-in-Multiple-Occupation-HMOs-Position-Report.pdf