Our Lady’s students thrown a lifeline

NORTH Chadderton School has offered a lifeline to Our Lady’s pupils, left devastated when they were told they wouldn’t be able to stay on and study their A Levels.

The Chronicle revealed last Thursday how 77 Our Lady’s pupils had their original plans scuppered due to a school merger in September.

Now staff at North Chadderton Sixth Form, based in Chadderton Hall Road, have come to the rescue and said that they will be able to take on many of the students who have been left disappointed.

They have even pushed back their application deadline to allow students the chance for a space.

Head of sixth form, David Marlow, said: “We’ve had a very successful collaboration with Our Lady’s over the last three years where the timetables aligned.

“Pupils could for example do two subjects at one school, and one at another.

“As part of the collaboration we will be happy to go one step further for pupils to register with us to do all their subjects.

“We’ve already had some parents making inquiries.

“We want to offer a lifeline to a significant amount of the pupils who want to study in a school-based sixth form.”

Staff at Our Lady’s said it would be impossible to operate across a split site when the school merges with St Augustine’s in Werneth in September. The newly-named Blessed John Henry Newman School will still operate a Year 12, but will only offer health and social care or public service diplomas as part of a stripped-back service.

North Chadderton has extended its application deadline to Friday, February 11 and will offer personal interviews to applicants.

Blue Coat School has also extended its intake cut-off date for Our Lady’s pupils by two weeks until February 11.

Martin Griffin, head of sixth form, said: “We are a over subscribed as a sixth form.

“We have 50 places for external applicants but we are expecting over 150 applications. Competition is stiff but we wanted a level playing field for those affected students.”

Crompton House Sixth Form, whose application deadline closed on December 3 last year, have a waiting list for admissions.

Mark Renton, director of the sixth form, said the school was happy to accept and consider application forms but they would go on the waiting list.

The worried parent, who first raised the alarm, said: “It’s reassuring that the deadlines have been extended.

“I’m pleased that schools are making an allowance for the children that are going to lose out.

“At least there are alternatives.”