V.A.T, in school fees

These are the admissions criteria for another school I know. (I think you might know it too.) Note the first priority for Group B.

Group A - A maximum of 120 places will be allocated in the following order of priority:-
1. ‘Looked After Children’ or a child who was previously looked after, but immediately after being looked after
became subject to an adoption, residence, or special guardianship order. A Looked After Child is a child who
is (a) in the care of a local authority in England, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local
authority in England in the exercise of their social services functions.
2. Children of worshipping members of the Church of England or Methodist Church (maximum of 74 places).
(See notes B & C, below.)
3. Children of any member of staff employed by the Board of Governors of the School at the time of
application:
a) where the member of staff has been employed at the School for two or more years at the time at
which the application for admission to the School is made and/or
b) the member of staff was recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
4. Siblings of children attending the School at the time of application. (See notes B & D, below.)
5. Children of worshipping members of other Christian denominations or of other faiths. (See notes
B & E, below.)
6. Children of any other applicants to the limit of places available, places being awarded to the child(ren) living
close(st) to the School as indicated by a straight line from the main school reception entrance to the child’s
home, as calculated using Peterborough City Council’s GIS process.
Group B - Pupils selected by ability as measured by the School's assessment procedures in merit order for a
maximum of 15 places.
1. 12 of these places will be selected on overall academic ability.
2. 3 of these places will be selected on musical ability.

It's NUT lawyers that are saying this.
The government should be taken to court over it, as they are breaking the law.
They have to be challenged some time.

They've been breaking the law for decades, but nothing has ever been done.

Such a pessimist, daphne!

In the list of highest achieving so-called comprehensives, four of them are openly partially selective.

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/gcse-results-2016-best-state-schools-top-100-grades-uk-secondary-where-are-a7211931.html

Others are selective by the back door, by (for example) reserving places for music students, which favours those whose parents can afford music lessons. There's one school on the list, which insists that all pupils have their own ipad.

www.suttontrust.com/newsarchive/85-of-top-comprehensives-with-best-gcses-are-socially-selective-but-schools-where-pupils-make-most-progress-are-much-less-so/

I wonder whom the NUT is intending to take to court. AFAIK schools are their own admissions authorities, which would mean that the NUT would have to prosecute individually every school with partially selective admissions criteria.

No, a realist. These kind of arguments have existed ever since I started teaching and admissions criteria have sometimes been challenged. I'm afraid I think the NUT's statement is a lot of hot air.

Parents who owe 50p for school dinners have been threatened with court proceedings.

www.theguardian.com/education/2017/apr/15/demanding-workload-driving-young-teachers-out-of-profession

Lillie. have you bought into the system, or are you a subversive?

dj I'm not sure what you're asking me, but I speak from experience of both sides of the fence.
I was educated at an inner London comprehensive - very mediocre teaching, gained a place at a top university - totally out of my depth socially, but achieved a good degree thanks to the teaching, took up a job in the private sector, became Headmistress and chose private schools for our own children.
I really couldn't care less what sort of educational establishment I went to. I'm just glad I was able to have a soul as well as a brain in each of those settings. A subversive person, NOT, but maybe a bit of a rebel now and then.

That'll do; as long as you are still rebelling a bit against the system you have gone into.
I remember your history on this thread.