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| Rush of the titans: supersize secondary schools for surging population | Rush of the titans: supersize secondary schools for surging population |
| (6 months later) | |
| It’s breaktime at Sydney Russell school in Dagenham, east London, on the day before national offer day, when primary school pupils find out whether they have got into their first choice of secondary school, and the students in their emerald green blazers begin to emerge from all directions, spilling out of dozens of classrooms across the vast site. | It’s breaktime at Sydney Russell school in Dagenham, east London, on the day before national offer day, when primary school pupils find out whether they have got into their first choice of secondary school, and the students in their emerald green blazers begin to emerge from all directions, spilling out of dozens of classrooms across the vast site. |
| As the numbers multiply, the noise volume rises. The canteen area rapidly fills with hundreds of children; in the space immediately outside there are hundreds more, and round the corner in the playground beyond there are hundreds more again, laughing, chatting, holding hands, playing football. | As the numbers multiply, the noise volume rises. The canteen area rapidly fills with hundreds of children; in the space immediately outside there are hundreds more, and round the corner in the playground beyond there are hundreds more again, laughing, chatting, holding hands, playing football. |
| Sydney Russell is one of a growing breed of so-called “titan” schools – supersize secondaries – which are being rolled out across the country in response to the growing demand for places caused by increased birth rates. | Sydney Russell is one of a growing breed of so-called “titan” schools – supersize secondaries – which are being rolled out across the country in response to the growing demand for places caused by increased birth rates. |
| First it was primary schools that were forced to expand rapidly; now the bulge is moving into secondaries, with more than 300,000 additional secondary pupils expected in the system by 2020, putting unprecedented pressure on schools and local authorities. Sydney Russell is playing its part and now has 1,900 pupils. | First it was primary schools that were forced to expand rapidly; now the bulge is moving into secondaries, with more than 300,000 additional secondary pupils expected in the system by 2020, putting unprecedented pressure on schools and local authorities. Sydney Russell is playing its part and now has 1,900 pupils. |
| Like many other schools this year, Sydney Russell received more applications than ever before. Just under 1,500 children applied, of which almost a third made it their first choice. Though the school is one of the biggest in the country, with a 12-form entry offering 360 places in year 7, many families will still be disappointed to find they have not got their preference. | Like many other schools this year, Sydney Russell received more applications than ever before. Just under 1,500 children applied, of which almost a third made it their first choice. Though the school is one of the biggest in the country, with a 12-form entry offering 360 places in year 7, many families will still be disappointed to find they have not got their preference. |
| Roger Leighton was head of Sydney Russell until last October and has overseen the massive expansion programme with a new £2.4m block plus a £25m rebuilding programme funded by the now defunct Building Schools for the Future programme. | Roger Leighton was head of Sydney Russell until last October and has overseen the massive expansion programme with a new £2.4m block plus a £25m rebuilding programme funded by the now defunct Building Schools for the Future programme. |
| When he was a boy he went to a grammar school with just 500 pupils. Now he’s firmly of the opinion that big is beautiful. | When he was a boy he went to a grammar school with just 500 pupils. Now he’s firmly of the opinion that big is beautiful. |
| “It doesn’t make any difference if you are 10-form entry or 12-form entry,” he says. “There was a trend where some parents worried about their child in a big school – ‘Oh, my child is going to get lost in this great big school with lots of kids’. But [with record applications this year] these parents are clearly not put off. They are desperate to get in.” | “It doesn’t make any difference if you are 10-form entry or 12-form entry,” he says. “There was a trend where some parents worried about their child in a big school – ‘Oh, my child is going to get lost in this great big school with lots of kids’. But [with record applications this year] these parents are clearly not put off. They are desperate to get in.” |
| Leighton is now chief executive of Partnership Learning, the multi-academy trust of which Sydney Russell is the lead school, and is helping the east London borough of Barking and Dagenham to create enough spaces for its burgeoning school-age population. | Leighton is now chief executive of Partnership Learning, the multi-academy trust of which Sydney Russell is the lead school, and is helping the east London borough of Barking and Dagenham to create enough spaces for its burgeoning school-age population. |
| In the last few months alone the borough has had to find 250 extra secondary places beyond the projections last October for children who have unexpectedly moved into the borough. It’s a constantly changing picture. | In the last few months alone the borough has had to find 250 extra secondary places beyond the projections last October for children who have unexpectedly moved into the borough. It’s a constantly changing picture. |
| When the Guardian visits, Leighton is putting the finishing touches to an application to open three more schools – free schools – in the borough. Sydney Russell, meanwhile, is expanding further. It is opening its own three-form-entry primary section, which will feed into the secondary school, taking the total up to a staggering 2,700 pupils. | When the Guardian visits, Leighton is putting the finishing touches to an application to open three more schools – free schools – in the borough. Sydney Russell, meanwhile, is expanding further. It is opening its own three-form-entry primary section, which will feed into the secondary school, taking the total up to a staggering 2,700 pupils. |
| He says the size of the school allows for economies of scale. There may be 1,900 pupils but you need only one headteacher, one business manager, one facilities manager. As a result there’s more money to spend elsewhere – he says Sydney Russell has “the best IT in the country” – and the curriculum offer is much broader, particularly in sixth form. | He says the size of the school allows for economies of scale. There may be 1,900 pupils but you need only one headteacher, one business manager, one facilities manager. As a result there’s more money to spend elsewhere – he says Sydney Russell has “the best IT in the country” – and the curriculum offer is much broader, particularly in sixth form. |
| Janis Davies has taken over as principal and she says her team works hard to make sure pupils don’t feel lost in such a big environment – particularly heads of year who make it their job to get to know all 360 children in their immediate care. “It’s about making sure the students are all known, so they can form an identity and links,” she says. | Janis Davies has taken over as principal and she says her team works hard to make sure pupils don’t feel lost in such a big environment – particularly heads of year who make it their job to get to know all 360 children in their immediate care. “It’s about making sure the students are all known, so they can form an identity and links,” she says. |
| But it’s a massive operation. As well as the children, there are 120 teachers, plus 80 other staff. The staff car park is vast and the staff room looks like the waiting hall at Stansted airport. There are more computers than pupils and Davies jokes that she could buy a house with the amount of money the school spends on toner for the 200-plus printers at the school. | But it’s a massive operation. As well as the children, there are 120 teachers, plus 80 other staff. The staff car park is vast and the staff room looks like the waiting hall at Stansted airport. There are more computers than pupils and Davies jokes that she could buy a house with the amount of money the school spends on toner for the 200-plus printers at the school. |
| The original school on the site was a grammar school, Dagenham County High. The main building with its 1930s brickwork and attractive wooden floors still survives but would be barely recognisable to its famous alumni, which include the comedian and musician Dudley Moore and the former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey. | The original school on the site was a grammar school, Dagenham County High. The main building with its 1930s brickwork and attractive wooden floors still survives but would be barely recognisable to its famous alumni, which include the comedian and musician Dudley Moore and the former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey. |
| Sydney Russell may be big but Walton High in Milton Keynes will be even bigger. It currently has 1,500 pupils, and an extra 270 will start in September on a second site, which will eventually also hold 1,500 pupils making a total of 3,000. | Sydney Russell may be big but Walton High in Milton Keynes will be even bigger. It currently has 1,500 pupils, and an extra 270 will start in September on a second site, which will eventually also hold 1,500 pupils making a total of 3,000. |
| It originally opened in 1999 with 120 children. The executive principal Michelle Currie, who was the founding vice-principal, says she always knew the school would get bigger – Milton Keynes is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. | It originally opened in 1999 with 120 children. The executive principal Michelle Currie, who was the founding vice-principal, says she always knew the school would get bigger – Milton Keynes is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. |
| Like Davies and Leighton at Sydney Russell, Currie says there are clear advantages to a big school – the broader curriculum offer and the economies of scale. In addition, having two sites means pupils have the advantages of belonging to a larger community, without feeling dwarfed by their immediate surroundings. “The biggest issue is for the whole school community in Milton Keynes,” she says. | Like Davies and Leighton at Sydney Russell, Currie says there are clear advantages to a big school – the broader curriculum offer and the economies of scale. In addition, having two sites means pupils have the advantages of belonging to a larger community, without feeling dwarfed by their immediate surroundings. “The biggest issue is for the whole school community in Milton Keynes,” she says. |
| “Whilst Walton High will be OK because we know this growth is coming in and we will get those economies of scale, some of that’s being subsidised by other schools.” Per-pupil funding has gone down across all Milton Keynes schools to pay for expansion at Walton High and elsewhere. | “Whilst Walton High will be OK because we know this growth is coming in and we will get those economies of scale, some of that’s being subsidised by other schools.” Per-pupil funding has gone down across all Milton Keynes schools to pay for expansion at Walton High and elsewhere. |
| According to Labour, the number of titan secondary schools with a pupil population in excess of 1,600 pupils is likely to increase by more than a third over this parliament and the number with more than 2,000 could increase by two-thirds. | According to Labour, the number of titan secondary schools with a pupil population in excess of 1,600 pupils is likely to increase by more than a third over this parliament and the number with more than 2,000 could increase by two-thirds. |
| Leighton is unfazed. For Sydney Russell it brings greater freedoms. And for the children? “For a student, their experience is a classroom of 25 or 30 kids and that’s it.” | Leighton is unfazed. For Sydney Russell it brings greater freedoms. And for the children? “For a student, their experience is a classroom of 25 or 30 kids and that’s it.” |