Have your say on plans for schools in the Fulbrook pyramid
Friday, 11 September 2020
We have moved to the next stage of the Schools for the Future programme in Woburn Sands and the surrounding villages, known locally as the Fulbrook pyramid.
The publication of statutory notices follows a 12-week public consultation, which received over 590 responses between January and April this year.
We have considered the feedback and developed a revised plan which will be split into two phases.
The first phase, which forms this statutory consultation, focuses on Aspley Guise and Swallowfield lower schools and Fulbrook Middle School.
There will be a further public consultation for the second phase, regarding a proposal for Husborne Crawley, Ridgmont and Woburn Lower Schools to federate on one new site, once a proposed site for the school is known.
The revised plan for the first phase is:
Aspley Guise Lower School
- a change of age range from 5-9 to 5-11, from lower to primary, from 2022
- an increase to the published admission number from 27 to 30, with 1 form of entry
- an expansion of the school premises
Swallowfield Lower School
- a change of age range from 2-9 to 2-11, from lower to primary, from 2022
- the published admission number to remain at 60, with 2 forms of entry
- an expansion of the school premises
Fulbrook Middle School
- a change of age range to become an extended secondary school, with 4 forms of entry, aged 9-16 (Yrs 5-11) in 2022.
- a change from an extended secondary to a secondary school, aged 11-16 (Yrs 7-11) in 2024, by which time all of the lower schools within the Woburn Sands area will have changed to primary schools
Councillor Sue Clark, Central Bedfordshire Council Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said:
The Schools for the Future programme is a long-term programme to ensure we have the right schools, in the right places, delivering the best education possible. Since consulting residents in Woburn Sands and the surrounding villages, we have listened to the feedback and, in collaboration with the schools, have revised the plan. Both phases will see schools in the area change to a two-tier system, which will align with the rest of the country and help improve educational attainment, recruitment and retention of the teaching workforce.
Importantly, for parents and pupils in the area, it will also provide them with more choice and the option to attend both a primary and secondary school closer to where they live.
Residents can now have another say, over the next four weeks, on the plans for Aspley Guise and Swallowfield lower schools – which are the two Council-maintained schools in the area – with a questionnaire available.
As an academy, Fulbrook Middle School does not need to publish a statutory notice for public comment, but comments can be submitted to the academy.
Responses should be submitted by October 8. The Council will consider the feedback at its Executive Committee meeting in December and make a final decision on the plans for maintained schools.