A new Church of England (C of E) secondary school will open in Kingston, the council confirmed on Monday (April 6).

The school was proposed by Diocese of Southwark and is set to provide 180 places per year for children aged 11 to 16 and is expected to open for its first Year 7 cohort in 2023.

Kingston Council (RBK) will fund 10 per cent of the building, set for a site on Kingsmeadow, while the Department for Education will pay for the other 90 per cent.

The council heralded the news on Monday after describing how it had worked closely with the Diocese of Southwark on the project in the hopes of meeting the need for school places in the borough in the future.

In a statement published on RBK’s website, the council offered details on who could apply for the places and which areas would be most directly served by the new school.

“Two-thirds of the places per year available to any applicants and a third will be available to children of practising Anglicans or other faiths,” the statement read.

“The school will make a much-needed contribution to the ‘basic need’ for additional places as the borough’s population continues to grow in coming years.

“Subject to full feasibility and formal committee approval in due course, the Council will lease part of the Kingsmeadow site for the school.

“That location will enable the school principally to serve future cohorts of children living in Kingston, Norbiton and New Malden – the areas where children have been unplaced at the initial offers stage for the last few years,” it added.

Councillor Diane White, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services including Education, described the confirmation as “excellent news!” as she praised its potential benefits to the community.

“It will give parents/carers and their children certainty that there will be enough secondary school places in the borough for generations to come.

“I look forward to welcoming this new school into our local family of schools,” she said.

Colin Powell, the director of education for the Diocese of Southwark, thanked RBK for their support in helping the project move forward.

“The Diocesan Board of Education is delighted that the proposal for a new Church of England Secondary School for Kingston has progressed to the next stage,” he said.

“This school will add to the quality of educational provision in the borough and offer further parental choice.

“My Board, and the 10 primary schools we maintain in the borough, acknowledge the support and strong mutual working relationship they have with Kingston Local Authority,” Powell added.

The borough of Kingston’s swelling population has placed increasing demand on housing and subsequently school places.

Last month, the residents of the Cambridge Road Estate voted overwhelmingly in favour of a huge regeneration project in the area that will bring 2,170 new homes to the borough.