If the proposal for the new build does go ahead, shouldn't the new school kick off with a brand new name?

Reflecting the location, how about Ben Rhydding Grammar School? But that may not be politically corrrect these days....the days of London laddies and all?

Perhaps Ben Rhydding Comprehensive School...... or Ben Rhydding Academy, or simply Ben Rhydding School?

Or, following the example of St. Mary's Menston, why not drop the 'school' appelation altogether? St. Mary's Menston could just as well be a finance house like St James' or possibly a hospice or an orphanage, or possibly a club for latter day saints, or a shopping precinct maybe?

So we could call the new building 'Ben Rhydding's' or if we wish to be more inclusive it could be called 'The Wharfedale Zone'?

What's in a name? Any other ideas?

Jasper
Ben Rhydding already has a school called Ben Rhydding.The PRIMARY school.

So, all it needs now is a Ben Rhydding 'SENIOR' school? Maybe, eventually, a Ben Rhydding Uni? Your work productivity will shoot up, Eileen!

Tis obvious, innit:

Wharfedale Academy (or warfdale acadime if you are running a news service)

Very funny sadwan, write me a poem my favorite, sweetest and lovable showman.

I guess there will be demand to keep the name (tradition and all).

How about "The Wheatley Grange Academy of Science and Humanities"

I see from the Gazette that 18 children have not been placed at IGS this year. Most from Addingham and 1 from Burley. This is up from 10 children last year.

I can only imagine this is going to get worse over time. With this in mind it seems perverse for Ilkley as a community to be wringing it's hands over loss of some greenbelt when the town urgently needs a larger school for its children.

I concur.

Given that you've both got children due to join IGS in a few years, aren't you interested parties?

And it might be the solution, ut it makes even more ludicrous selling off the middle school site..

IGS is too big as it is. We need two, smaller, schools. Addingham and surrounding villages is now so big it probably should get one of its own. Let the latter build on its green belt...

The Gazette didn't report how many places have been offered to children from outside the priority one area...

Maybe this should have been addressed before the building of houses on former greenbelt land attracted lots of new families to Burley, Menston and Addingham. The warnings were sounded at the time.

The population of the area has expanded faster than the infrastructure, but maybe the leaving the infrastructure as it is, will put the brakes on future expansion.

BertieWooster wrote:
Given that you've both got children due to join IGS in a few years, aren't you interested parties?

And it might be the solution, ut it makes even more ludicrous selling off the middle school site..

IGS is too big as it is. We need two, smaller, schools. Addingham and surrounding villages is now so big it probably should get one of its own. Let the latter build on its green belt...

Under this definition, I am also an 'interested party' - although TBH I'd hope that all local people are interested in the education of our children!

Anyway - I agree - 2 schools. 1 for Ilkley and Addingham in current IGS location and the other for Burley and Menston somewhare over there.

But if that's not going to happen then I'd rather a new school big enough for all the pupils instead of some fields. Much as I like fields. And horses. And cows. But I like education more.

BertieWooster wrote:
Given that you've both got children due to join IGS in a few years, aren't you interested parties?

But Bertie - you've posted on here that you are a father yourself. From your comment, does this mean that we should take all your observations with a pinch of salt, because you are also an interested party, or are you simply more dispassionate than us mere mortals and therefore better able to give the "balanced" view? Alternatively, are you simply saying that you don't plan to be making use of the services of IGS, but assume that we are?

For the record, I went to an independent school, and I'm not ashamed about that. I also support comprehensive education. Time will tell as to where my children will be educated, but if we can have a first class comprehensive school in our town, I'm all for it.