Major boost for north Kingston school campaign (From Surrey Comet)

Major boost for north Kingston school campaign

6:50pm Thursday 4th December 2008 in News By Mike Didymus

The 10-year fight for a new secondary school in north Kingston has received a major boost with Kingston Council unveiling plans to build a new 1,200 pupil school by 2014.

The council plans to bid for more than £100m of Government money from the Building Schools for the Future(BSF) programme seven years earlier than expected, after a bulge in primary school pupil numbers this year persuaded council officers more secondary places would be needed in the borough.

The plan also proposes major investment in existing secondary schools across the borough, including rebuilding Southborough and Tolworth Girls’ schools on the latter site, remodelling Coombe Boys’ and The Hollyfield School before 2013, and investing in the borough’s remaining secondary schools and special schools before 2016.

Key to the early bid for the cash is a partnership scheme with Croydon Council, who were due to enter the BSF scheme at this stage but were not considered “ready to deliver”.

The council believes the joint application - the first of its type in London - gives them “a strong case for early entry” and will lead to significant savings on the cost of the scheme.

Patrick Leeson, director of children’s services at the council, also cited the council’s successful construction of the £23m Chessington Community College on time and on budget as an important factor.

The proposal also includes an application for Richmond to receive early funding to extend Grey Court school, which currently takes more than 150 Kingston children from the north of the borough and has recently been many frustrated parents only option to send their children to.

Patricia Bamford, Kingston Council’s lead member for education, said: “For a number of year there has been a great deal of debate about the need for a new secondary school in the borough, particularly in the north Kingston area.

“Looking at our numbers we’ve recognised now that the bulge we saw in primary is going to continue, so from 2014 onwards we need to have a new school in place.

“Until recently, it looked as though expansion of existing secondary schools may provide the additional provision we will need.

“But recently the balance has tipped and the data now shows that the demand for a new school in the future, with around 180 places per year group, does exist.”

Mr Leeson said there was no shortlist for where the new school would be built, but suggested the local community’s favoured option of the North Kingston Centre would be too small, adding that extra primary school places would also be considered at the eventual site.

The plans will go before the council’s executive committee on December 9, with the Government making a decision on approving the application in Spring 2009.

But the council opposition said it was only Kingston Council’s early application to the Building School’s for the Future programme had “saved them from a disaster”.

Kingston’s shadow member for education Nick Kilby said he was delighted at the u-turn on providing a new secondary school, but blasted the Lib Dems for being “caught napping” over the bulge in school applicants in the borough.

He said: “I’m delighted for the parents in north Kingston, but I’m speechless at the ability of the Lib/Dems to turn in whichever way the sun is shining.

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