Plans are moving ahead to secure the opening of two new schools needed in Sutton in the next couple of years to ensure students are not left without a local school place.
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the appointment of Wates as contractor to design and build the new schools, that will be operated by the Greenshaw Learning Trust.
Mike Cooper, Chair of Greenshaw Learning Trust, said: “We are delighted that a contractor has been appointed for our new Sutton schools. This is a significant step towards realising our ambition to provide an outstanding education and meet the needs for school places within the borough.”
The mainstream secondary school and small specialist school for secondary age students on the autistic spectrum will be co-located on the disused all weather pitch and part of the southern end of the Sports Village at Rosehill Recreation Ground (subject to planning permission).
In February 2018 the site was allocated for a school in the Sutton Local Plan, and following detailed negotiations between the DfE, Sutton Council and GLL, operators of the Sports Village, Sutton Council agreed to the site being transferred to the DfE for the new schools in December.
Wates will now be drawing up proposals for the school building and, working with the DfE and Greenshaw Learning Trust, will be engaging with the local community and stakeholders ahead of submitting a planning application. If planning permission is granted, the schools should be completed by September 2021.
The latest data shows that additional secondary school places are required in September 2020, so the Greenshaw Learning Trust, DfE and Sutton Council are looking at ways that the new secondary school could open on a temporary site from September 2020 before moving to the new building at Rosehill Rec. planned for September 2021.
For further information and to receive updates, please visit the Greenshaw Learning Trust website.
BOROUGH NEWS
Roger Mills
4 Responses
Disgraceful that more public playing field and recreational land is given over to building a school in Sutton because we import so many out of borough students into our grammar schools. Elmwood, Sutton West, High View, Gaynesford and Glastonbury all closed and sold for housing and now we need more schools. We warned the council/LEA this would happen. Will Sutton have any control over these schools – NO, because LEAs no longer exist! All just another way of getting around planning and building regulations designed to maintain our quality of life.
Surely the first of these two schools is open on the old Sutton General Hospital site? I certainly know students who are attending in year 7.
We’re fuming! Despite promises of a consultation with local residents there has been none and this has been railroaded through.
Finding out on this platform is totally unacceptable. Our local councillors R Dombey, M Heron, S Penneck – need to be held to account for not engaging with the residents on this as they promised.
So building on a capped dump where hospital intermediate nuclear waste was dumped many years ago, have these people forgot all the problems they had and the Baseball team relocating as they found out what they had been sliding on for years on their diamond ?