We the undersigned oppose Wycombe High School's expansion plans. We do not believe it meets the criteria for the Selective Schools Expansion Fund and call on Damian Hinds MP to reject their bid.

We note that:

There is no evidence of demand for more selective school places locally.
Wycombe High School is not over-subscribed from local children. This year they are admitting at least 38 children from out of their catchment area in order to fill their places.
Their consultation says there is a need for more school places in Bucks, but that they also propose expanding their catchment area to cover Maidenhead. In other words, new places will go to children who are outside the county and outside their current catchment, and so will not help to meet the need for more secondary school places for Wycombe's children.
The school has made no firm commitment to increase the representation of disadvantaged children. The school has set a low target of just 5.7% of their total Year 7 places to be 'prioritised' for (not allocated to) disadvantaged children. This is barely higher than their current figure of 4.6%, and significantly less than the 37% pupil premium figure at the secondary school one mile away.
The school does not appear to have considered the impact that their expansion plans will have on nearby schools, reducing the academic and social diversity of those schools, and depressing attainment.
Their consultation has not been 'fair and open' as they failed to put it on their website so only a narrow group of existing parents have been directly consulted.