Whitley Bay High school admissions process branded “unfair” in light of Monkseaton High closure

A report from the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, sparked from an anonymous complaint, has found Whitley Bay High School must revise its admissions arrangements after they were branded “unfair” and in breach of the schools admissions code.

The report was written in the midst of the closure of Monkseaton High School, which threw the future school of students, including the further education of Year 8 pupils, into doubt.

The report stated: “It seems clear to me from the information shown in the table that, had all the parents of children living in the Whitley Bay High School catchment area applied on time with a first preference, they would all have been offered a place.

"The same cannot be said for the children living in the Monkseaton High School catchment area, and although the effect of the unchanged catchment area has been significantly mitigated by the provision of additional places, it has not been removed.”

The report went on to say that a total of 390 places were made available, of which 243 went to kids living in the WBHS catchment area and 135 to those living in Monkseaton High’s catchment. The remaining 12 places could only have been offered to children not living in either catchment.

It was the opinion of the adjudicator that if the arrangements were equal for Whitley Bay and Monkseaton High pupils, they could have benefited from those 12 places.

The report also highlighted concerns about the continuity of the three-tier education system in parts of North Tyneside.

Julie Firth, Director of Children’s Services at North Tyneside Council, said: “While the Office of Schools Adjudicator report has findings for Whitley Bay High School to implement, we remain clear that the extraordinary admissions arrangements that were put in place for Monkseaton High School were implemented for the benefit of the impacted pupils and school leaders and this could not be pre-empted.

“The Council will continue to support Whitley Bay High School to address the findings.”

Steve Wilson, Headteacher at Whitley Bay High School, said: “It would not have been right to change the WBHS catchment area prior to, or immediately following the LA’s decision to close Monkseaton High School. The school’s decision not to do this was found by the School’s Adjudicator to be reasonable.

“Following the LA’s final decision to close Monkseaton High School I, with the school’s leadership team and the Governing Body immediately started to work with the LA to look at our future admission arrangements.

“This work is near completion and will be submitted to the school’s adjudicator once ratified by governors.

“WBHS takes its responsibility to the local community very seriously and will work with the LA to find a resolution to the issues caused by the closure of Monkseaton High School.”