Dear Neighbour
Conservative led Wokingham Borough Council has now responded to the comments made by you and I to their initial consultation regarding the Maiden Erlegh catchment area. You may have read that Reading’s Tory Council administration and MP have welcomed the plan, however reading the documentation it is clear that the new proposals will leave Park Ward parents worse off rather than better off.
The new admission system effectively means that Maiden Erlegh will fill up from Lower Earley to Maiden Erlegh. This means that while South Park houses nominally remain in the Maiden Erlegh catchment area our children will be at the bottom of the pile for admission to Maiden Erlegh, their local school.
Each area is in a band which shows where children living in the new “joint” catchment will go to school. Tory Wokigham’s Education Officers have stated that, based on current admission estimates Maiden Erlegh will be full by the 1000m band on the map.
Tory Wokingham has produced the map below to explain the new catchment system. Looks simple doesn’t it?
Note: South Park is marked and its boundaries are approximate, they should not be taken as an indication of whether individual houses are in or out of the 1000m zone.
As you can see 99% of all the homes in South Park are outside the 1000m zone.
As you can imagine many of those who have examined this map are extremely frustrated to hear or read than our Tory MP and Councillors have welcomed this proposal while it excludes South Parks children.
Next Steps
Wokingham have said that they plan to consult on this proposal. I would suggest that all those who commented at the last consultation write again to Wokingham expressing their dissatisfaction with their plan and proposing either a return to the Status Quo or a shared catchment based on simple linear distance from Maiden Erlegh.
As this situation develops I will, of course, keep you informed. Please feel free to forward this email to your friends and neighbours who might not receive this mail and feel free to email me back with any questions or comments you have.
Best regards
