BSF

Berryhill and Hanley East City Councillor Adrian Knapper is shocked and outraged to read within Friday nights Sentinel that the Conservative/Independent Liberal Democrat Alliance that now runs Stoke-on-Trent City Council wants to expand Birches Head School by an extra 300 pupils when residents within the Bucknall area want a new School at the Mitchell site.

91% of parents were allocated their first choice of secondary school for their children compared to the national average of 83% Staffordshire schools did even better by allocating 95% for parents their first choice schools. Last year there were issues surrounding the allocation of places at Sandon High School. A number of parents whose children would have attended Longton High School were refused places at Sandon High on appeal even though Sandon High officially takes over Longton this year.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has approved its 2010/11 budget at a meeting today. The increase in council tax will be 2.89 per cent and will mean residents of Stoke-on-Trent continue to pay the lowest council tax in Staffordshire. Council tax for Band A homes, which make up 61 per cent of properties in the city, will be £925.87 a year, including the contributions towards the costs of the police and fire service. The increase will be 41p a week for Band A properties.

Senior politicians in Stoke-on-Trent say Schools Minister Vernon Coaker has given his full support to the Building Schools for the Future programme in the city.   Mr Coaker met council leader Ross Irving and cabinet member Councillor Ian Mitchell along with senior council officers after a fact finding mission including visits to a number of schools in the city yesterday (Thursday).   <

Council Leader Ross Irving has today confirmed he is to stand firm in his resolve to see an Academy type school built on or around the Adderley Green area. He believes that Schools Minister, Vernon Coaker is happy with the City's BSF proposals.

Stoke-on-Trent’s contentious and hard fought Building Schools for the Future programme has been given a major boost with the announcement that the project’s Outline Business Case (OBC) has been approved. Confirmation of the approval means government funding is now confirmed in principle for the £250m programme, which will see all secondary and special schools in the city rebuilt or refurbished between 2010 and 2014.