James' Story

This is how James will go to school

It is 2007. James is 6 and halfway through Year 2 at his local Primary school. He stays there for all of this year, the next and the one following.
Instead of going to Middle school in September 2009, his Head teacher tells him that he will be staying in his Primary School.
In the summer of 2009, James’ Primary School has two large porta cabins delivered and put onto its playground. When James returns in September, he is told that half of the playgroup is out of use, but he has a new classroom! James spends the year being taught in the porta cabins, dashing in and out of the school when necessary among the inclement periods of weather.
James returns in September 2010 to find two more porta cabins taking up the rest of the playground and hence there is little space for football at break or PE clubs after school when it is to wet to use the field.
He has a new teacher who has come from one of the Middle schools which has closed. He has never had a male teacher before. James is 10 years old. He sits his Sats tests in the summer, but has found it hard to concentrate on study because the porta cabins get hot and stuffy and it’s a long walk to get to the toilets inside. Halfway through the year, his teacher leaves and moves out of the school for another post. James has a temporary teacher for half a term until a replacement is found.
In September 2011 James leaves his expanded Primary school for ‘the new school’ in South Lowestoft.
This has 1200 children – all starting at the same time. James is mixing with students up to the age of 18 now that he goes to school on the bus.
His classroom is near to the area of the school where they haven’t finished all the building work yet. As some of the practical teaching rooms are not fully completed, James has quite a few lessons in his form room.
James loved his football. He was in the team at primary school and would have been in middle school where there were only 60 boys in the year group. However, there are 250 pupils, 125 boys in his current year group and only one team for them. James loses interest in football quickly.
By 2014 when James is 14 years old, the work at school is finally completed. James makes his selection for GCSE examinations. However the correlation between his Key stage 2 SATs scores and GCSE predictions, have meant that because his KS2 SATs were not as good as they might have been without all the disruptions caused by the reorganisation, he doesn’t get all his choices at GCSE and is disappointed.
However he has been told by the County Council that the reorganisation of schools will improve standards and pupils’ achievement – but maybe not for him and his friends?