Sevenoaks grammar annexe: waiting for Mr Gove

Last week saw a flurry of press interest in the Sevenoaks grammar annexe. This was not because anything had changed; the two applications, from Invicta Grammar School and Weald of  Kent grammar school, have been with Education Secretary Michael Gove since the second half of July, and he has yet to give his verdict.

Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon wrote to Mr Gove some weeks ago, urging a speedy decision. In his response, Mr Gove emphasised the importance of his establishing whether what was proposed was an expansion of existing schools (which is legal) or a new grammar school (which is not). I also wrote to Mr Gove, arguing that the proposals were indeed expansions and that the case for further selective provision in West Kent, and Sevenoaks in particular, was a very strong one. In his reply to me, Mr Give reiterated the importance of the distinction between a new school and an expanded one, and also expressed his belief that he would be able, on the basis of advice and information from the Education Funding Agency, to reach a decision relatively soon.

The national press has weighed into the issue, with articles in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. The Telegraph argued that Mr Gove should change the law to allow for the creation of new grammar schools. I and others at KCC are, unsurprisingly, sympathetic to this view (KCC Leader Paul Carter argued for it in a Radio Kent interview) but we also strongly believe that the two proposals are expansions under current legislation.

Mr Gove's decision, and the timing of it, are outside KCC's control. Meanwhile, however, we are pressing ahead with those things that we can do. The planning application for the Wildernesse  site, covering both the grammar school annexe and the Trinity Free School, is about to be submitted, with the aim and expectation of securing determination by March.