Deputy Leader of B&NES Labour Group, Cllr Joe Rayment (Labour, Twerton) has welcomed a ruling published by a Government watchdog which will give boys from the South West of Bath a much better chance of getting into Beechen Cliff school.

In a wide-ranging report that covers all aspects of admissions to Beechen Cliff school, in response to a complaint from Cllr Rayment, the Schools Adjudicator finds:

• Allocating an equal number of places to boys living either side of the River Avon is unreasonable and is unfair to boys living south of the river.

• Giving priority to brothers of girls who attend Hayesfield is unfair, because it is of little practical benefit to those families or educational benefit to the children, and it reduces the number of places available for other boys who do not have a sister attending Hayesfield.

• Fourteen other ways in which the arrangements do not comply with the Admissions Code.

Beechen Cliff has been given two months to revise its admissions arrangements to bring them in line with the Schools Admissions Code.

Cllr Rayment said: “I am very pleased with this ruling. I referred Beechen Cliff’s admissions practices to the Schools Adjudicator, because a huge number of disappointed parents contacted me when their sons did not secure a place at the school. These were parents from across the south of Bath, not just Twerton, and I could not understand how children living in the south of the city could not get a place at their nearest school.

“This ruling is a step forward. However, the allocation of secondary school places in Bath remains a huge challenge since the closure of Bath Community Academy. I am working

tirelessly to address the need for local children to be able to have a place at their local school.

Leader of B&NES Labour Group, Cllr Robin Moss, said: “This issue has remained unaddressed for years. It was only because of having a Labour councillor in Bath that we’ve

finally managed to secure change in the interests of local children and families. This shows how important it is to elect Labour councillors. Other parties might shout from the

sidelines, but it is Labour councillors who do the real legwork to effect actual change.”