Liberal Democrats seek funding commitments for Children & Young People in York

In a motion put to full Council on the 14th December, Liberal Democrats are calling on the Council to stand up to the Government and insist the Secretary of State reconsider York’s abysmal school funding position.

Under the new Schools National Funding Formula, the Government is imposing real term cuts on schools by freezing per-pupil funding, while inflation and school costs, such as staff salary costs, employer pension and national insurance contributions, increase; affecting all schools and academies in the process.

York has historically been the lowest funded local authority area, in terms of school funding, in the Country and with the Government’s new proposals, is set to remain the lowest funded.

Furthermore, York Liberal Democrats are also seeking assurances that the Council will maintain funding levels to the City’s Youth Council, which has worked tirelessly to campaign for young people in York.

Cllr Ashley Mason said: (more…)

Deadline for York secondary school applications approaches

 

Parents of children currently in Year 6 are being reminded that applications for secondary schools places for September 2018 should be made before midnight on Tuesday 31 October 2017.

For pupils in Year 6 – the last year of primary school – parents should apply for a maximum of five schools and we recommend that one preference should be the catchment school

Applications can be made online at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

All details and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at www.york.gov.uk/guideforparents. This guide contains information on school admissions and appeals processes as well as information on admissions statistics, oversubscription criteria and other information for parents and carers.

Any parents eligible and who may not already have applied for free school meals are urged to do so at the same time. This means that whether or not the meal is taken, the pupil premium of £900 per year per eligible secondary school pupil will follow the young person throughout their time at school to benefit their education.

For more detailed information, please email: education@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551 554.

York children set to take walk to school week in their stride

 
Twenty five York schools and over 7,000 pupils across the city are set to take part in Walk to School Week from Monday 16 October.

Walk to school week aims to get even more children walking, cycling or scooting to school.

The school that gets the highest number of pupils walking, cycling or scooting throughout the week will win the coveted Jack Archer award and £200 to put towards sports equipment.

It is recommended that children aged five to sixteen do at least sixty  minutes of physical activity that gets their heart beating faster than usual and they need to do it everyday to burn off calories and prevent them storing up excess fat in the body.

Regular activity is also important for adults and it is recommended that adults make sure they’re active for just 30 minutes each day, or 150 minutes a week.

The scheme is also targeted at families who normally take the car, and encourages them to consider walking or cycling to school instead.

Residents can find out more about changing the way they travel in York at: www.itravelyork.info
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Good GCSE (Key Stage 4) results in York

Pupils across the city have achieved excellent GCSE results.

Early indications of results at York High would suggest that in spite of the increased challenge of GCSE examinations in English and maths this year students  “have achieved results in line with those achieved in 2016”.

Meanwhile York College says it is proud to announce “fabulous GCSE results for students aged 16-18 years, and adult students, who have taken their Maths and English Language exams this year.  A total of 237 students achieved grades 9-4 in English Language and 171 students achieved an A*-C in Maths from this summer’s examinations.  And nearly two thirds of adult students who took GCSE Biology this year have achieved high grades A*-C”.

Despite the significant changes that have taken place in the examination system this past year around curriculum changes and measuring performance, York’s Key Stage 4 performance remains strong.

These changes include new performance indicators for the percentage of pupils achieving grades 9-1 in both English and mathematics. Provisional results show that York schools have performed well against these new indicators with 69% of students achieving grade 4 and above in both English and maths, and 48% achieving grade 5 and above .

The measure known as English Baccalaureate (EBacc) continued to show good performance.  Pupils who gain good grades in English, maths, two science subjects, a modern foreign language and a humanities subject achieve EBacc.

Good A level exam results announced in York

York College

 A level students across the city have achieved an excellent set of results in this years exams.

Provisional results for York school sixth forms and York College show that the very high standards of previous years have been maintained and initial results for the city indicate that A level results remain consistently amongst the best in the country.

York school sixth forms – All Saints RC, Archbishop Holgate’s CE, Fulford, Huntington and Joseph Rowntree – and York College are reporting strong results including ‘best ever’ performances.

At York College pupils have got an outstanding A-Level pass rate of 99.7 per cent with a record of almost 60 per cent high grades achieved (A* – B). Yet again, the College’s results will be significantly above the national average, as they have been for 23 consecutive years.

Over 30 students gained three or more A* or A grades, with an amazing seven students achieving 3 A*s or more. The College is also delighted to report a 100 per cent pass rate in 35 A Level subjects.

Early results for the schools show that across the board young people will be able to get to the universities of their choice, including those applying to Oxbridge universities and medical courses. This strong position is being maintained despite the significant changes to the content and structure of A and AS level courses this year.

Pupils to speak up at city’s first Primary Voice session

York’s first open forum for primary school pupils is welcoming children to have their say on the city and their views on it.

On Monday 26 June City of York Council is hosting the first ever Primary Voice event with Clifton Green Primary School. 20 schools across the city are sending some 70 participants – pupils and staff – and councillors from all the main political parties will be attending.

Schools have been invited to bring pupils from Years 5 and 6 or from their school council, to come and share the views of their school community.

They can talk to councillors and officers, take part in workshops, hear about how City of York Council operates and experience democracy in action.
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What’s on in York: Pottery – Just Throwing

West York Adult Education Centre

Mon 19 Jun – Mon 17 Jul :

7.00pm – 9.00pm :

Full fee £190 /State pension £180 /JSA or means tested benefits £180

This is a skill learning course, giving the opportunity to use both electric and kick wheels. We will cover clay preparation, how to centre and throw a pot and how to finish/turn a pot, plus a guide to glazing.  There will only be a max of 2 people per course to give you full time on the wheels and detailed tutor instruction.

Suitable for anyone aged 19 and over looking to gain skills in basic pottery throwing techniques.

Clay and glazes are provided by the centre at an additional cost of £10 per student for each 5 week course.

Please wear old clothes, short sleeved top preferable, jewellery best not worn.

Booking online by clicking here or call the York Learning bookings line: 01904 552806.

Nearly 93 per cent of York children get a place at their first choice of primary school

 

City of York Council is pleased to announce that almost 93 per cent of York children have got their first preference for a place at a primary school for September 2017.

Figures published today (Tuesday 18 April) detail primary school admission figures for entry to reception for the start of the next school year.

In York, 92.9 per cent got their first preference and 98.3 per cent got one of their first three preferences. For comparison, the percentage of children achieving their first preference was 94.4 per cent in 2016 and 92.3 per cent in 2015.

The number of online applications for primary school places has continued to increase. Parents who applied online will be notified of their child’s place by email at 10am today, letters are being posted today to parents and those with online accounts can log in to the council’s parent portal at www.york.gov.uk/parentportal.

In 2017 all children within the local authority area have secured a primary school place. The majority of children got one of their first three preferences with the number of children whose preferences were not able to be met fell to 25.

This year’s admissions figures, compared with last year’s are outlined below:

 

2016

2017
 

qty

%

qty

%

1st

1,853

94.4%

1,828

92.9%

2nd

71

3.6%

78

4.0%

3rd

10

0.5%

29

1.5%

4th

1

0.1%

6

0.3%

5th

0

0.0%

2

0.1%

Other

27

1.4%

25

1.3%

Total

1,962

100.0%

1,968

100.0%

Applied Online

1,795

91.5%

1,825

92.7%

 

Call for nominations for the best adult learners

 

City of York Council is calling for nominations for this year’s York Adult Learner Awards, to celebrate the achievements of lifelong learning in the city.

Anyone can nominate an adult learner aged 18 or over: a relative, colleague or teacher, and this year there are seven categories to choose from so individuals and groups of learners can be recognised.

Learners who are nominated and shortlisted will be invited to a celebration evening on 22 June at Explore York. Besides recognising their achievement, nominees will also find out if they have won the overall title of York Adult Learner of the Year 2017.

Working alongside the council’s York Learning team to help make these awards happen, are York College, York Explore, the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), Learning City York and York Local Link Ltd.
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